Sara's Quest
by Flamewind
Summary: /Discontinued/ Sara and her friends must help finish the ancient war between light and dark. Their help includes a bird made of light and an odd group of Pokemon. Their success depends on luck and, more importantly, fate.
1. The Beedrill Attack

Disclaimer: Note that I do not own Pokemon. That right goes to Nintendo. But I did make up a new region, with made up Pokemon, new people, original places, some new moves, and new items. That goes for my whole story, so I don't need to repeat this over and over again. If I need to add something to this disclaimer, please tell me so in a review.

This isn't going to be like the normal trainer stories, I'll tell you that now. Later on in the story, the characters won't even be dreaming of battling for gym badges.

Pokemon speech and dreams/thoughts will be in _italics_, the Pokedex's talking will be in **boldface**; as will certain other things like signs, and everything else will be normal, for now.

Without further ado, I give you… Sara's Quest!

**Chapter 1**

The ringing of a large metal clock woke Sara out of a good night's rest. After rubbing her eyes and slamming the clock hard to get it to be quiet; she half tumbled out of bed. "Good morning dear! Happy birthday!" Called her mother from the downstairs living room.

It took the blonde girl a second to collect her drowsy thoughts. _Birthday? Wow, lucky person to have a birthday on a day like today… _She thought to herself, taking a moment to get dressed before she remembered something really important… today was _her_ birthday! "Yip-skip-yahoo!" Cried Sara as she raced down the stairs, nearly running over her mom on her way out the door with a, "Hi mom, sorry! Bye mom!"

Sara's mother just shook her head and called after her daughter's retreating figure, "Have fun sweetheart!"

That was something that Sara just had to do. Fun is the essential part of Pokemon training. The professor of Elemental Ridge, Miss Eliza Appawich, lived in her town just a couple blocks from her home. A large, cozy looking building came into view just ahead of her. Little puffs of white smoke came from its chimney. Over the large wooden door hung a sign that said: **Professor Appawich**.

"Professor Appawich! I've come for my Pokemon!" Yelled Sara breathlessly as she came to a halt a few feet away from the professor's desk. There was a clatter, a clank, and then a lady jumped up enthusiastically from behind her desk. Her hair, going silver by now, was braided and pulled out of the way. Huge, full-moon glasses covered her eyes and left sufficient space to magnify half her cheeks.

"Hello dear…. Sara, was it?" She asked in a voice cracking with age. Sara nodded wildly and glared lightly as the professor laughed loudly-more like cackled. "Come then, your Pokemon is waiting over here." Miss Appawich led Sara through rows of bookshelves filled with marked Pokeballs, and led her down one of them.

"Let's see… Sara… hmmmm, here it is!" The professor took one of the balls off its stand and handed it to Sara. "Press the button and give it a flick." Said Miss Appawich with what sounded like supreme authority.

Sara did as the professor said. There was a blinding flash of light, and the Pokeball returned to Sara's hand. Almost immediately, she let out a cry of pure glee. "A Taillow!" Sara exclaimed, rushing over and picking the little bird up in a cupped hand.

"Now Sara, Taillow are very fragile see, you don't want to be too…" Began Miss Appawich, the end being cut off by a very high-pitched squawk from the Taillow. Sara must have hugged her too hard…..

"Oops! Sorry little one… it's just that's you're so cute… and…" She cried; flattening the soft, yet ruffled feathers on her little bird's back. It took a while, but the Taillow stopped glaring at Sara, and snuggled into a more comfortable position in her cupped hand.

"So," Miss Appawich continues, giving Sara a stern look through her huge glasses, "Let's continue, shall we? I've already got your Pokedex, Pokeballs, and ooh; a Pokemon Translator!" She handed Sara all the things she had just listed, the Pokemon Translator leaving her hand the most reluctantly. It didn't look very special, just a strange little gadget, wires had been shaped into nearly perfect circles and painted a dark grey. On what should be the top sat a small grey box, filled with complex circuitry.

"Uh… what does this thing do?" Sara asks after she had placed the balls and Pokedex in her backpack. This Pokemon Translator just looked like a wacky bracelet to her.

"Well, recall your Taillow and I'll show you." The professor stated impatiently. Sara fumbled with the Taillow's Pokeball before figuring out how to get the little bird back in it. Reluctantly, Sara handed both the Pokemon Translator and Taillow's Pokeball to the professor.

Miss Appawich easily slipped the Translator around the Pokeball. The box of the Translator was over the Pokeball's button. "Now watch this." She says as she pressed down a little green button on the side of the Translator. The little gizmo hissed and popped for a good three minutes before the button popped back up again. "There, now see what it does for yourself." She handed a rather hot Pokeball and the Translator back to Sara.

Sara repeated the little feat that had caused the Taillow to come out before. It had the same results, the same Taillow made her appearance; not looking any different. "She's sooo… cute!" Sara exclaimed and picked the Taillow up again.

"_Oh no, you're not going to hug me again, are you?" _Sara jumped and looked up at Professor Appawich, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"You can talk!" Sara asks the little bird incredulously.

"_As well as you can, I see."_ Snapped the Taillow as her feathers ruffled up again. She seemed to be grinning at Sara though, in a beaked sort of way.

"Yes, yes, amazing talking Pokemon; I know. But you see that I'm very busy. If that's all Sara, you may leave!" Miss Appawich stated impatiently, pointing Sara out the door. How her feet found their way out, she'll never know. Sara was busy staring at the Taillow, who kept her in a lazy glance.

"Do you have a name?" Sara finally asks.

"_Yes, do you?"_

"Yeah, it's Sara."

"_Nice."_ Taillow pauses for a second, _"For a human, of course."_

"Oh, and your name is better?" Sara growled, getting annoyed by the little bird's attitude.

"_Yes, mine is much better. It's Star for your information."_

"That's a really short name." She pointed out to the bird, happy that she'd made a point.

"_Just as short as yours."_ Star retorted, flashing another beaky grin. They had reached Sara's house again; Sara opened the door slowly, still with her eyes on the little bird, and entered her house.

"Sara! You're back!" Exclaimed her mother in surprise, "And you have a friend! Aw, how adorable!" She had snatched Star away from Sara and was petting the bird's soft feathers.

"_No no no! Not the head, not the head!"_

"Awww and she knows how to say her name too!" Sara's mother cooed, not noticing the crimson color her daughter was turning.

"Uh mom, I think you've had enough time with Star." Sara started, taking the little ruffled bird from her mother, "So, I guess I'm going to be going on my journey now, huh?"

Even though her mom was smiling, tears raced down her cheeks, "My little girl's growing up before my eyes!" She cried, catching Sara and Star up in a big hug.

"_Oh brother…"_

"I'll miss you mom!" Sara responded, tears welling up in her own eyes, "I call home every time I can! And I'll even send letters!"

After a couple more minutes saying good-bye, all the while Star was making annoyed comments, Sara grabbed her pack and waved to her mom one last time before leaving.

"_Finally!" _Star exclaims as she began to smooth her feathers back down. _"I really thought you'd never leave!"_

"Impossible. You'd never forgive me." Sara replied, and for once the Taillow had nothing to say to that. They were beginning to leave Brittle Branch Town. The first route they'd take was called Twig Row. It would be a good two day's walk to the first town, but Sara was ready with a sleeping bag and pillow.

With Brittle Branch Town finally a couple of yards behind them, Star opened her wings and flapped up. Soon she was circling around above Sara's head, diving and turning at will.

Their surroundings had changed; small trees had been planted in two rows beside the grassy path. Caterpie and Weedle lazily crawled along the path and over the tiny trees. Then Sara got a bright idea, "Hey Star! Let's do some Pokemon catching!"

Star stopped her aerial games and landed on Sara's head, _"Which one?"_

They were everywhere, all sorts of little bug Pokemon to catch. Also, a couple of Pidgey appeared from a branch of one of the trees and would fly away as Sara spots them. But one Weedle caught Sara's attention; it was huge, massive and maybe double the size of its comrades. "That one!" Sara told her Pokemon, who took flight again and plucked the Weedle off its branch.

On Star's return trip, she must have scared the Weedle badly; it let out a very loud wail. Star immediately dropped the bug and raced off down the path, _"Run!"_ She squawked behind her back.

Sara didn't know what had gotten into Star for a second. Then the buzzing of wings got to her ears. _That wasn't a cry… that was a call for help!_ Sara realized and sped off after her Taillow with new found speed.

A long while passed as she ran, Star always was a bit ahead. The sun was beginning to set, and still the Beedrill chased on. Sara never looked back; for fear that the sight of the Beedrill would paralyze her in mid-flight. She was beginning to tire, and so was Star by the way her wing beats were slowing. "Driiilllll!" Called the Beedrill's shrill voices.

"_We'd better… do something." _Star calls behind her to Sara, who agreed completely. They eventually came to a stop and turned to look at their pursuers. A line of what looked to be over one hundred Beedrill were coming at them at a speed that looked to have been slowed by the long pursuit. At the front of the moving mass of Beedrill looked to be the Beedrill's big cousin. It was a dark shade of reddish-brown and larger then most of the other Beedrill. Where Beedrill had only two pairs of legs, this bee had four on it's longer and wider body. It's antenna would be considered the fifth that gave it it's name in the first place.

Shaking hard, Sara took out her Pokedex and pointed it at the huge bee. The picture that resembled the Pokemon appeared on its screen, and a male computer voice droned out: **"Deckadrill, the evolved form of Beedrill. Deckadrill are known for their nasty tempers and will follow those who anger it for up to three days."**

"_Three days! How are we going to avoid that thing for three days?"_ Star snapped as it loomed ever closer with its swarm.

"Dreeee!" Shrieked the Deckadrill as it went into a nosedive, locking the stingers on its arms in front of it. It would hit at any moment. Sara, thinking quickly, grabs Star and holds the Taillow to her chest as Sara curled up and only left her back exposed. The ringing sound of the Beedrill's wings got louder and louder, Sara swore to herself that the Deckadrill would attack her at any second. But it didn't.

Puzzled, Sara looks up slowly and gasps. The Deckadrill was stopped ten feet from her, staring at what looked to be a very strange butterfly. But that wasn't all. A line of numerous Butterfree now blocked the paths of all the Beedrill. The Butterfree were saving them!

She took this time to aim the Pokedex at the strange Pokemon blocking the Deckadrill. A frontal view of the Pokemon showed up on the screen. It was a bright purple, with large, silver wings. Its eyes were a glow-in-the-dark green and were compound. **"Solonfree, the evolved form of Butterfree. Solonfree are not afraid of humans, and make good pets."**

Star squirmed out of Sara's grasp, and chirped in surprise. The Butterfree, all simultaneously, began to flap their wings and blew a thick blue powder in the Beedrill's faces. And almost ten seconds after that, the Deckadrill's forces fell to the ground with dulled red eyes. Now it was the Deckadrill against… a lot of Butterfree and a Solonfree. It took a look around at the Butterfree and let out a shrill cry before turning tail and fleeing from them.

"Wow…" Sara said softly, amazed at how she had been saved. That Deckadrill didn't even scratch her! She was so happy, she could hug the Solonfree, who had turned and was hovering close to her. "Thank you." Came out instead.

"Freeeeeee!" The Solonfree exclaimed, its voice being magnified as the Butterfree joined in the loud clatter. Then, as one, the Solonfree and Butterfree bow humbly to Sara and Star before splitting and flitting away.

Sara and her Taillow exchanged incredulous looks. First the Butterfree saved them from a swarm of mad Beedrill, and then they bowed to them? It didn't make sense…. But their thoughts were interrupted as some of the Beedrill began to wake from their little nap.

Turning the right direction, they ran and flew away quickly. The sun had set by now, and stars began to dot the night sky. Sara and Star didn't have far to go, the next town was very close. It seemed that the Beedrill attack had saved them a day's time.

**Opal Town, the town where dreams come true.** Read the sign that they passed with joyful whoops and chirps. Tomorrow they would find Opal Town a bright, happy place; but now all they wanted to do was sleep. A Pokemon Center was nearby, the large domed roof and large neon 'P' a welcome sign for the weary travelers.

Nurse Joy welcomed them with, "You two are out late. Welcome to the Pokemon Center." She yawned and pointed to a secluded corner of the Center when Sara asked where they could sleep.

Thanking her, Sara and Star collapsed on the cushioned couch. Sleep came almost immediately, and Star spent the whole night snuggled against Sara's chest.


	2. Vulpix and Another Trainer

The next day, Sara was still fast asleep when the sun was shining bright golden rays on her face. Star was the same, letting out tiny whistle snores every couple of seconds. It was only when one of the more drowsy Chansey accidentally dropped a metal pan that Sara bounced awake. "OW!" She exclaims, grabbing her right leg and squeezing it, sending Star flying off of her. "My-legs-hurt!"

"_Think of how my wings feel bucko!"_ Star snaps back at her trainer, she had a firm grip on the arm of the bright red couch and didn't look all too pleased. Suddenly, without warning, the Taillow let out a long, high pitched cry that made Sara jump two feet.

"What? What is it? What's wrong?" She yells over her Taillow's screeching. Sara dug into her pockets for the Pokedex, and pointed it at Star.

The mechanical voice sounded very mocking when it droned this out, **"Taillow are fearless in battle and will stand up to opponents bigger and stronger then themselves. But when they're hungry, they'll cry nonstop."**

"Hungry!" Sara repeats, and then dashes over to Nurse Joy, who had covered her ears and didn't look all too happy with Sara. "Food… Pokemon food… help!"

Sara received a very angry glare from the Nurse, but she turned and went into a back room for a few seconds. After a few minutes, Star screeching the whole time, Joy came back with a medium sized box. She hands Sara a bag full of small pellets, a small bowl, and motions to Star.

Taking the hint, Sara rushes back over to her Pokemon and offers her the bowl after it was filled to the brim with the tiny pellets. Star nearly attacked the bowl in hunger, she ate all that was in it and stared hungrily at Sara for more. She ended up eating three bowls of Pokemon food, finishing off the bag, and would have eaten more; but Nurse Joy dragged Sara away by the ear.

"You should be ashamed of yourself!" Nurse Joy growls, "Letting you Taillow starve! I've never seen such… such… horrible treatment in a good long while!" Sara cowered from her glare, and didn't have the heart to point out that she had only had Star for one day. But luckily, Star wanted to get on with the day.

"_Hey Sara! Are you going to talk all day or are we going to go explore!"_

"Explore, explore." She responds and breaths a sigh of relief as Nurse Joy snorts and turns away. "But I have something to do first…"

"_What?" _Star asks, and lets out what sounded a lot like a sigh as Sara made her way to the video phones. _"Ohhhh no…"_

Sara scooped up her little bird and lets her settle on her shoulder. The Taillow was warm, and felt soft against Sara's cheek. Dialing the correct number and tapping her foot with impatience, Sara waited for her mother to answer her phone. After a minute or so, Sara's mom appears on the screen with an exclamation so loud that Star fell off Sara's shoulder.

"Hiiiiii honey!" She nearly yells, "How are you?"

"_I'll be fine once Sara hangs up on you loudmouth!" _Star squawks from the floor, which she was laying flat on her back on.

"Great! We've already reached Opal Town mom!" Sara exclaims, ignoring Star's comment and grinning at her mom.

"Opal Town? In one day! Oh dear, you two must be exhausted!" Sara's mom exclaims, a look of worry on her face. Sara -and Star- agreed that they were very exhausted. Sara told the whole story of what happened to her mom, who wanted to know every last detail. After that was done, Sara plucked a very annoyed Taillow from the floor and sat her in front of the telephone screen.

"Adorable!" She cries, "I could just stare at her for hours!" Star squirms at that.

"_Please don't." _She chirps, exciting an 'Awww!' from Sara's mom.

"My little Pokemon trainer's growing up!" She finally says, tears shining in her eyes again, "Take care sweet-pea!" And with that, Sara's mom hung up. Star chirps with relief, and turns to look at Sara.

"_Are you ready now?"_ Star asks pointedly and Sara nods. The Taillow lets out a chirp and reluctantly flies back to her perch on Sara's shoulder.

Opal Town was small; a little water fountain bubbled in the corner, an assortment of houses dotted the land, all with painted white roofs and walls. The Pokemart was also all white, but had big scarlet letters plastered over the glass door that said, "Mart". Only one building didn't follow this pattern, by far the largest building, it was painted red and had a grey roof. Next to it, all white, was a much smaller, but broader building that just had to be Opal Gym.

"Gym first?" Sara asks her Pokemon, who agreed almost instantly. They came up to the building and entered it. Two guards blocked their path onto the field, both heavily build and wearing weighty armor. The axes they carried were probably just for show, but Sara stepped back a bit just incase.

"Where is your partner?" One of them asks in a deep tone.

"What partner? If you mean my Pokemon, she's…"

"No! Your trainer partner!" The second guard boomed.

"Okay then… I don't have one." Sara responds nervously.

"Then you can't compete, come back with a partner." They pushed and shoved Sara right back out of the gym without some much as an apology.

"'_Then you can't compete.' Humph! We should go back in there and…"_ Star squawked, feathers bristling in anger.

"No, that would just get us in trouble." Sara says, and Star ruffles even more.

"_Humph, now what?"_ Star finally asks after a while. They had returned to the Pokemon Center's door.

"I dunno. Go find a partner I guess…"

"_No way! We aren't going to give in that easily!"_ Star responds stubbornly, _"We should go Pokemon catching or something…"_

Sara suddenly gasps. In everything that had happened yesterday, she hadn't captured a single Pokemon! "Yes, but I'm not going back to Twig Row, no matter what!"

"_Next path then."_ Star says, and points the wing not up against Sara's cheek west. There was a wooded path leading out of Opal Town, and it was also the next route they'd have to take.

"Emerald Path, the one that leads to Jade City?" Sara asks, and the Taillow chirps a yes. It was decided, they would go catch Pokemon there.

It had already been a hard trek for Sara; her legs were still throbbing from yesterday's run. But she made it, and had already challenged a Bellsprout to battle, when there was rustling in a nearby bush. Star must have gotten too close to whatever was in it, because she had to put on a burst of speed to avoid having her feathers scorched.

"_Hey! Watch what you're aiming at! You could hurt something."_ She squawks at the bush, which parted and a Vulpix jumped out of it.

"Vul!" It cries before sending another Ember in Star's direction. Star spun in mid-air to avoid it, and looks back at Sara as if to ask, 'Which one?' The Bellsprout could wait, Sara pointed at the Vulpix and nods.

"Star, use Quick Attack!" She orders, and Star circles once above the Vulpix before diving down at her, moving at a break-neck speed. The attack hit its mark, but the Vulpix rams Star back and attempts to Tackle her; but misses as Star becomes air-borne again.

"That was good; now finish it with a Wing Attack!" Star again dives at the Vulpix, but at the very last moment she outstretches her wings and slaps the Vulpix across her back.

Weak and dusty, the Vulpix fell to the ground and didn't get up. Sara then pulls out one of the few Pokeballs Miss Appawich had given her and tossed it at her. There was a flash of red light, and the Vulpix disappeared inside of the ball. But she wasn't caught yet. The button of the Pokeball still glowed red and it twitched many times before returning to normal.

"Yes!" Sara exclaims as it returns to her hand. Star landed on her wrist and peered at it.

"_Looks like we've got a new friend!"_ She chirps in a sing-song voice.

Behind Sara, someone clapped loudly. "Very good, very good." Said a boy. Sara spun around to see a mouse brown haired boy with hazel eyes, grinning at her.


	3. Drake

**(Disclaimer: Note that Avalon…**

**Avalon: No no! You've already said that in Chapter one! Ahem, I've given up on trying to find some sort of 'respond to review' button, so I'm just going to say it here… Sakume, thanks a bunch for both of your reviews! I'm honored that I've made it to your favorite author list! **

**Cyberfrog, of course I'm going to update:D Thanks for saying it's interesting.**

**Dragon Shadow1, thank you for you reviews! Deckadrill was burning in the back of my mind as a good Pokemon. (Too bad Pokemon never evolve more then twice. Beedrill needs an evolved form…) I suggest that you do start writing! I'll be one of your first readers.**

**Notes from Avalon will always be in bold. Okay then, if you have any questions/comments, you can always review. Hint hint… Yeah… so here's Chapter three.)**

"_And who are you to comment on our battle, hm?"_ Star snaps at the boy, her feathers ruffling angrily.

The boy pauses for a second and stares from the aggravated Taillow, to her trainer. "You know," He finally says to Sara, "I don't speak Taillow. Maybe you could translate for me?"

Sara shakes her head, "You don't want to know what she's saying."

"_What!"_

"Oh okay. Beginning trainer, I see." He mumbles, causing Sara to blush, "I just happened to notice that you're partner less."

"_Oh that… that's stupid."_

"So I want thinking… maybe… well, if your Taillow's up to it, of course…" He was stammering, and now it was his turn to blush.

"_Spit it out, bucko."_

This time, Sara repeats what Star says. The boy jumps at Sara change in tone and finishes his sentence. "…That maybe, if you two can put up a fight before losing to me; maybe we could be partners."

Sara and Star both visually bristled as he finished. "I accept your challenge, but that doesn't mean that I'll lose to you." Sara growls, glaring at the boy angrily.

He was grinning, actually widely, "My name's Drake by the way." He says as he whips a Pokeball off his belt, steps a good distance back, and flung it out. There was an almost blinding flash of light, and a Pokemon Sara had never seen was standing there in a battle-ready position.

"Dreaaaa!" He cried, displaying two rows of stubby, yet sharp fangs. This Pokemon was lizard-like, about three feet long from snout to tail tip; he stood on four tiny webbed feet that had even smaller claws on them. His back was smooth and all of the sea greenish scales looked slick and shiny.

Sara whips out her Pokedex and lets it scan the peculiar Pokemon. **"Drateni, the sea-lizard Pokemon. Drateni are said to be distant relatives of Dratini, and have been hunted nearly to extinction for that reason."**

Drake was beginning to hum to himself, "Yes yes, it's quite sad and all. But if you don't mind… the battle?"

"Oh, right." Sara mumbles, "Now Star, I wouldn't underestimate this… thing. It looks tough."

"_Nothing I can't handle!" _Star snaps, and takes flight into the battlefield.

"Tackle it Star!" Sara exclaims to her Pokemon, who nods and begins to descend; aimed for the Drateni's back.

"Blow it away with Water Gun!" The Drateni opened his mouth and let a torrent of water surge upward, aimed directly for Star. She rolled out of the way once and dove quickly to slam herself on the middle of Drateni's back.

He lets out a loud cry, and then while Star was beginning to rise again, he shot another Water Gun that absolutely soaked her.

"Star!" Sara cries as she sees that her Taillow is losing altitude fast, "Fly up, fly up! Do something!" Star did do something, she opened her wings as wide as she could make them at the very last second; and put on a burst of speed. Star knocked right into Drateni, who was knocked over onto his side.

Drake got an evil glint in his eyes, one that his Drateni mirrored as he heard what his trainer had to say. "Finish it with Crush Claw." Drateni got to his feet at once, and watched as Star retreated upward. The tiny claws on his webbed feet began to glow an eerie white. The right moment would come soon… wait… there! He jumped into the air and grazed Star's chest in a downward stroke of his left claws.

Drateni landed first, and stood with a proud gleam in his eyes as Star crashes to the ground with a heavy plop.

"Star!" Sara cries again, and rushes over to her Pokemon. Star chirrups weakly, and yelps as Sara gently picked her up.

"I win." Drake states with a victorious grin. He ignored Sara's angry glare, "And I guess you're good enough to by my partner." His Drateni bobs his head and cries loudly. Even Star was staring as the Pokemon glowed a bright white and began to evolve.

He grew about a foot longer, a small horn and half-grown spines jutting out on his head and back. Some of his scales had turned a sapphire color, and glistened wetly in the sunshine. Sara was gaping, Star asleep, and Drake was choking up.

"My Drateni evolved for me!" Drake cries, and causes his Pokemon to jump as he hugged him around his lengthened neck.

"**Dorovi, the evolved form of Drateni. There have been debates about this Pokemon and its relationship with Dragonair." **The Pokedex then showed a picture of a long, beautiful dragon that had a strange but stunning resemblance to Dorovi.

"Congrats." Sara mumbles to Drake, who was still marveling over his Pokemon. It would be an understatement to say that Dorovi wasn't enjoying every minute of it.

As Sara was recalling Star, Drake actually got up and approached her. "Good battle." He states, and offers her his hand. "I've never got your name, by the way."

"Sara." She tells him, and clenches his hand hard, "I'm going to win next time."

Drake laughs, "I'm sure you will." He says in a mocking tone, "Now, where should you go next, beginning trainer Sara?" She gave him a stumped look and shrugs. "The Pokemon Center." Drake finishes for her.

"Oh right… yeah, I knew that!" Sara stammers, and begins her march back to the Pokemon Center. Amazingly enough, Drake followed her.

"Are you going to follow me all the time?" She asks him as they entered the Pokemon Center together. Dorovi shot them both an amused look, and said something to Drake that Sara really couldn't understand. "And you know Drake, I don't speak Dorovi."

Drake burst out laughing. "Oh my… ha! He says that we both are going to be following him from now on!" He says, Dorovi nodding to prove that was what he had said.

"Can I help you two?" Nurse Joy asks, and Sara suddenly turned pale. What would she say when she saw the condition poor Star is in?

"Uh yes, I uh… need my Pokemon to get… healed." Sara stammers and hands the Nurse her two Pokeballs quickly. She escaped over to the cushioned couch and watched as Drake gave Nurse Joy a Pokeball and Dorovi.

He then turned and walked over to Sara. "Scoot." Drake orders, and with a sigh, Sara scoots over. Drake sits down next to her and still was grinning. "You know, I've turned in my Pokemon to Nurse Joy when they were in worse condition then what you Taillow is in now."

"And what did she do to you?" Sara asks, her eyes getting wider.

"And she half killed me." Drake finishes, causing Sara to glare at him again.

"Thanks a bunch for the confidence booster." She snaps darkly.

There was a pause, broken only by Drake saying, "I have a feeling that we're going to get along very well."

"Huh?"

"You do know that we're going to be stuck together, right?"

"Stuck together! I thought that this was only a one-battle thing…" Sara had turned a shade of light pink.

"Nope, we're going to be stuck together."

"So what are they going to do? Write 'Sara Wellington' in permanent marker across your forehead?"

That caused Drake to laugh, "Wellington? Is that your last name?"

"Yes, it is." Said Sara, looking quite flustered.

"Oh yes, and they're going to write 'Drake Drencos' across your forehead too…" Drake muttered. It was Sara's turn to laugh.

"Drencos! Oh, never heard that one before!"

"Now you have." Drake stated matter-of-factly.

They spent the next hour talking about their names and Pokemon. In this time, Drake had explained the reasons why Dorovi is a water Pokemon; and not a dragon Pokemon. By that time, Sara was starving. It was now lunchtime, and she hadn't had anything to eat since yesterday.

Nurse Joy had come out just in time though, bringing food and their Pokemon with her. She didn't comment about the state Star was in, which was a relief. Dorovi had walked out of the recovery room, with a Taillow bandaged up around her chest perched on his back.

"You're alright!" Sara exclaimed, plucking Star off Dorovi's back and letting her settle in Sara's lap.

"_Of course I am!" _Star exclaims, ruffling her feathers and flinching as they bristled around her tender chest. _"Drakie Drencos can't get this Taillow down for long!"_

Dorovi lets out a hiss like laugh and tells Star something. Star chirps at him and mutters, _"And his Dorovi can't get me down for long either…"_

"Am I the only hungry one here?" Drake asks, glaring lightly at Sara and Star as he took a bite out of a very juicy apple. Star tweets a no and dive tackles her bowl of Pokemon food which Sara placed on the floor.

Sara let out her Vulpix and fed her too. It was then that she realized that Vulpix hadn't had a go in the Pokemon Translator. After they were done eating, Sara would use it on her. Drake only had one of his Pokemon out, the other was still in its Pokeball.

"Drake, what about your other Pokemon?" Sara finally asks after gulping down her second glass of apple juice.

"Huh?" Drake asks through a mouthful of sandwich. Sara elbows him and repeats her question. "Oh, him. He doesn't eat much…"

"Then let him out and get him to eat!"

"He gets moody if he eats too much." Drake states, but after a while of getting chewed out about being a 'lazy Pokemon trainer', Drake agreed to let his other Pokemon out.

Drake's other Pokemon was a Horsea, which truthfully didn't eat very much before asking to go back into his Pokeball. One point for Drake… he got to give Sara a look that must have said: 'You see?'

Once they were done eating, Sara recalled Vulpix and placed the Pokemon Translator around her Pokeball. "Now, all I have to do is press one of these buttons…" Sara mumbles to herself, the Translator had three different buttons: a green one, an orange one, and a bluish one.

"Uh, it was this one!" She finally exclaims. Star, who had came to perch on Sara's shoulder, took flight nervously.

"_Um Sara… I don't think…"_ But Star's warning was too late. Sara pressed down the orange button and… BUZZAT! _"Told yah."_

Sara coughs out a puff of smoke and yowls. "Ouch." Star let out screech like laughter at her.

Drake was no better, tears streamed down his face as he gazes at Sara, whose hair was sticking out in every direction like an atomic fluff ball. "Try the… green… button." He finally says, then went into another fit of laughs.

Growling, and fixing Drake with an irritated glare, Sara pressed down the green button and watched as the gizmo began to pop and hiss like it did at Professor Appawich's lab. After her Vulpix had been fully Translated, Sara let her out again.

Vulpix yawns and sits down, looking up at her trainer with an amused glint in her eyes. _"What happened to you?"_ She asks, staring at Sara's strange new hairstyle.

Sara, who looked like she herself could spit out an Ember attack, snatched up a comb from her backpack and fixed her hair.

Drake and Star wouldn't leave her alone about her hair the whole walk to the Gym. Vulpix had gone back into her Pokeball after telling Star that she was acting 'immature' and Dorovi walked a good distance in front of them all, ignoring everything that went on behind him.

Sara's mood was horrible when they finally did get to Opal Gym, and were let in by the same two guards as before. They took down both Sara and Drake's full names and let them into the heart of the Gym.

Opal Gym's arena was plain. Other then being painted all white, there was nothing special about it. To one side stood two ladies, the Gym leaders by the looks of them, both were dressed in flowing white dresses and manila hats. They took their places on the left side of the arena, Drake and Sara to the right. A group of about fifty people stood on the sidelines, spectators to be sure.

One of them wasn't though, a man dressed in a royal purple velvet tuxedo with a microphone and a voice that boomed all across the Gym would be their referee. "This will be a two-on-two match between Gym leaders Mickey and Pan…" The ladies in white waved to the crowd, which was cheering their lungs out. "…against challengers Sara Wellington of Brittle Branch Town and Drake Drencos of Opal Town!" There was booing and hissing from the crowd. Star booed back at the crowd, and got an even louder response from them.

"There will be one Pokemon per trainer and no time limit." He continued, "Let the battle begin!" More cheers greeted the two Pokemon that the Opal Gym leaders send out, a Meowth and a Rattata. They both looked quite used to the cheering, and were enjoying the loud clatter coming from the crowd.

"I'm counting on you Star." Sara tells her Taillow, who fluffs importantly, "Go out there and take them down!" With that, Star takes to the field, her bandages not hindering her flight at all. Drake had a similar conversation with Dorovi, then sent him charging in after Star.

"Scratch the Dorovi!" Called one of the ladies. The Meowth began to charge across the battlefield, the cheers increasing from the crowd.

"Water Gun." Drake commands and Dorovi sends a jet of water out to greet Meowth and soak him back. Boos and hisses met this upset, as the Meowth mews angrily and shakes himself in an attempt to get dry; not even remembering the battle going on.

"Star, use Wing Attack on the Rattata!" Sara exclaims up at her Taillow, who nods and sky-dives at the Rattata. She levels out with a sharp slap across the Rattata's head and avoids the Bite attack his trainer told him to use by twirling in mid-air. There were more boos and more hisses.

_I'm glad that's all they can do to us. _Sara found herself thinking as she examined the angry crowd.

The Meowth was still trying desperately to get dry when Drake orders Dorovi to use Crush Claw. It was then that Meowth got back to Earth and avoided the attack and giving Dorovi three marks across his cheek in the process. The roar from the crowd was deafening, but the Gym leaders seemed to be enjoying it. They were grinning as if they'd already won.

Star was having a much better time with her opponent, she was literally flying circles around the Rattata. Sara noticed that the more Star avoided the Rattata, the angrier the crowd got. "Finish it Star! Quick Attack!" Sara cries a final time. The crowd held its breath as Star dove at Rattata, gaining momentum until she crashed into the Rattata.

He let out a ringing cry, and flopped over limply. His trainer returned him to his Pokeball. The referee called out, "And Pan's Rattata is down!" The crowd let out a furious boo before he continued, "That means that it is just Mickey's Meowth against Dorovi and Taillow! Can Meowth lead a turn-around!" There was a joint 'yes' shouted from the crowd, and the battled continued to rage on.

"Try to pin it down Dorovi!" Drake orders his Pokemon, and gives Sara a look that must have said 'finish it too'. Sara nods to show she understands, and waits for the tired Dorovi to knock the Meowth over and stand on him.

"Star, land." Sara began, and waits for her Taillow to do so, "And Peck the Meowth." Star looked overjoyed to have a captive Pokemon to attack, and she went at it right away. Meowth squirmed and mewed, but to no avail. He was knocked out as well, and the battle ended there as his trainer recalled him.

Ignoring the crowd, which was in hysterics, Drake recalled Dorovi and Star perched tiredly on Sara's shoulder.

"Great job! I'm so proud of you!" Sara exclaims, smoothing Star's moist feathers. Star was puffed up from the battle, and kept ruffling her feathers after Sara smoothed them down.

Star gave Sara an affectionate nip on her finger and says, _"The Pokemon is only as good as her trainer." _Sara smiles warmly, and although the crowd was hissing angry statements at her and Star, she couldn't be happier. Following Drake, they approached Pan and Mickey to acquire the badges they had just earned.

"Enough!" The Gym leader the referee had called Pan bellowed. The crowd was silenced faster then you could say 'silence'. She then turned to Drake and Sara and gave them a slight, painful smile. "Good job. You two have earned the first badge; the Opal badge from us. Don't get too cocky, you both have a long nine battles to go." The other Gym leader, Mickey, thrust a badge at both Sara and Drake, who swiped them up quickly.

"The next Gym is in Jade City." Mickey tells them stiffly, and turns away. Pan does the same, and they exit the battlefield; following them was most of the crowd.

Sara cries with happiness, "We did it, we did it!" She jumped up and down like a Mexican jumping bean and nearly knocked Star off of her. Drake -careful not to hurt Star- hugged Sara briefly. To Star's relief, Sara stopped bouncing after that. She was much more interested in the badge she'd just gotten.

It was small. A four pointed, iron star had been shaped so that it bends up from the tips and attracts attention to the small opal embedded in its center. _"I don't think all that noise was worth loosing something like that."_ Star states, she had been looking at the badge too.

"You know, the badges get bigger." Drake says, "And they get more… after each Gym battle. It's said that they put real gold in the last badge. Ha, I guess they don't think anyone will get as far as the tenth Gym, and sadly they're probably right."

Sara and Drake exchanged glances, and shook their heads, "Pokemon Center?" Sara asks after a while, "I'm starving."

It was about dinner time. They agreed to go back and heal their Pokemon; and get a good meal while they're at it.

At the Pokemon Center, Sara and Drake had to wait about thirty minutes for Dorovi and Star to finish being nursed back to health. Star came out bandage less, Dorovi only having a patch over his cheek. Drake had shown Sara a poster that she hadn't noticed before, of the ten badges they'd have to get. The Opal badge was the smallest one, the Jade one not much bigger. But as a trainer pair moved up in the ranks, the appearance of the badges got better, and they also became bigger.

The Pokemon Center served them all a great feast of a meal in celebration of their victory. To Sara, food had never tasted better.


	4. The Bird of Light

**(Thanks for the review Moon! Chapter four coming your way… this is the start of the more mysterious part of Sara's Quest. Hope you all enjoy.)**

Drake and Sara set off the next day for Jade City. Emerald Path was a long, twisting route that broke into patchy areas of forest. Drake had all sorts of gizmos and gadgets like a compass -nothing special- and an assortment of fancy, electronic maps. His main one, the Pokemap 2000, was what he used the first day. It turned out that Emerald Path would take a good three days to get through, so Sara and Star weren't worried as the first day came and went.

The second day, they started to have their doubts about Drake's fancy doodads. (_"We've passed that rock before."_ Star grumbled.)

At the third day, the sun was setting and Jade City was nowhere to be seen. "We're lost." Sara announces, and Star twitters angrily.

"_Got that right. We've been traveling in circles this whole time." _Star agreed. Dorovi and Star had gotten into the habit of translating each other's speech to their corresponding trainer, and as Dorovi told Drake what Star said, Drake gave her an angry glance.

"We are not lost! It says here that we've two more miles to go. If we walk fast enough, we'll get there tonight!" Drake exclaims, "Let's go." He restarted the forced march, Dorovi walking next to him, Sara and Star dragging at the rear.

"_We're lost I tell you! Lost!" _Star kept repeating.

Drake finally stopped again and snaps, "Well, go fly ahead and see where we are then!" 

"_Gladly." _She responds crossly and circled upward. Sara and Drake waited for her to return, and she didn't look too happy. _"Not just circles. Look what's to your left."_

They do as she says, and it was Sara that first caught a glimpse of white. "We're back where we started!" She screeches, glaring furiously at Drake, "Why-is-that?"

"Well…" Drake stammers, pressing all sorts of buttons on the Pokemap 2000, "We could… its possible… aw, forget it. I must have read this wrong."

"Let me see that!" Sara growls heatedly and snatches the Pokemap 2000 away from him. It was an old thing to be sure, it looked quite dusty and there were patches of rust on its edges. It sat like a plate in her hand, and its clear computer screen showed what looked awfully unlike the Emerald Path they'd been exploring.

"Drake… how old is this thing?" Sara finally asks, and Drake's eyes widen as he begins to stammer again.

"Well… it's… it was made…. in 2000." He flinched back and waited for Sara to explode. And explode she did.

"WHAT! This… this thing was made over five years ago! NO WONDER! It's so out-of-date it should be in the trash can!" Sara screamed, her face cherry red. Drake gave her an innocent glance, and whimpered like a little puppy.

"How was I supposed to know?" Drake mutters.

"Common sense. I guess you don't have much of it." Sara growls and Dorovi said something to Star.

"_He says that you're overreacting." _Star translates. She looked annoyed herself.

It took a while, but Sara finally stopped chewing Drake out and relaxed. Yelling hadn't gotten them anywhere, but the sun had set and stars dotted the night sky. Drake received glares from both Sara and Star when he brought up the idea of going to Opal Town and resting in its Pokemon Center. But they agreed that is was a good idea, even if they were supposed to have left it behind three days ago.

The next day, they all were in better spirits. Sara called her mom again, and introduced her to Drake. "Awww, my little sweetheart has got a boyfriend!" She cries. Sara and Drake both turned new shades of scarlet.

"Uh mom, Drake is my partner, not my boyfriend." Sara tells her, but didn't convince her at all. Drake looked annoyed as Sara's mother ranted on about 'making sure Sara doesn't get into any trouble' but smiled slightly as Dorovi came into view and she began to focus on what a charming Pokemon he is.

"Adorable! You both have adorable Pokemon! Hey Sara, where'd Star get off to?" She was saying, and Sara blinks at her for a second.

"Uh, she can't make it today." Sara says with a strait face, feeling her Taillow sigh silently with relief on her knee. After a long talk she was finally done talking to her mom.

"_Finally!" _Star chirps as she chooses to perch on Sara's forearm. _"She scares me." _Then Dorovi mutters something that Star caught and translated, _"He says she scares him too."_

"Are you two ready now? I want to get out of here now…" Drake asks, and Sara nods. They went out into the early morning sun and looked up to see clouds forming on the horizon. They would be a problem sooner rather then later, but luckily the Pokemart sold umbrellas.

After they had shoved the two umbrellas into Sara's backpack, the only place they'd fit, they all entered Emerald Path again. After a while of walking, and actually following the signs that pointed the correct direction to Jade City, Sara suddenly stopped.

"Do you hear that?" She asks. Faint buzzing sounds were ringing in her ears. Star agreed that she heard them too. Before Drake could answer, she cut him off with a, "Look over there!"

Struggling with tree branches but only making it worse, was none other then the Deckadrill. Star shuddered as she remembered the Pokemon; it seemed to be thoroughly tied down by the branches though, so she flapped over and hovered in his face.

The Deckadrill's eyes had been red before, but they hadn't looked like they did now. Blood red and glowing, they fixed on Star and wouldn't look away. _"And what happened to you?" _Star asks it quickly, and as Sara and Drake were approaching them with caution, she had a conversation with it.

After a while, Star examined the Deckadrill's neck for some reason. What she found was a tight black band, strapped tightly to its captive, and it pulsed in a nasty way.

"_He needs help." _Star finally says as she turned to Sara, _"This is unnatural, it's horrid… Sara, come look at this." _But as Sara was approaching to look at the Deckadrill, it broke free and let out an incredibly loud hissing buzz. Drake and Dorovi turned tail and fled, but were heading away from Opal Town. Sara watched in horror as the Deckadrill swooped down, aimed at _her_.

"Run!" Sara screamed, and followed after the long-gone Drake, Star flapping ahead of her. As they ran, Star turned out of sight and left Sara in the Deckadrill's sights.

He was acting exactly the same, from the same motions to the same reasons to be chasing after Sara. But something was wrong. Something had to be different, because this Pokemon was defiantly out of control.

After a good hour, Star gone the whole time, Sara tripped and fell over a tree root. She whirled around on the ground to face the Deckadrill, and found that he was swooping down on her, about to strike. There was only seconds left, ticking fast, but Sara suddenly knew what she must do.

The words came out of her mouth without her consciously realizing they had. At the top of her lungs, Sara screamed to the heavens, "SOLONFREE!" She had shut her eyes off from the sight of the Deckadrill, and it took all her courage to open them again. Sara watched, amazed, as out of nowhere, a single Pokemon appeared. It was… Solonfree.

"Free!" It cries loudly, smashing into Deckadrill's side and knocking his attack away from its target. Deckadrill, screeching loudly, attacked the Solonfree instead of Sara then. The battle that followed was very one-sided; ending with the Deckadrill flopped down on the ground.

Remembering what Star had been looking at before, Sara scrambled over to the knocked-out Deckadrill and peered at his neck. She spotted the black band and she reached out and touched it. It shattered into dust and was blown away by the wind. Deckadrill still lay almost motionless.

Solonfree, which had been gazing over Sara's shoulder, gave a cry of joy. Sara turned to look into its glowing green eyes. "You saved me, again." She whispers, "Thanks."

The Solonfree bows again, and looks Sara dead in the eye. "Your welcome, Lady." It responds in a feminine voice. She said it in unbroken English, yet seemed not to have moved her mouth to say anything.

"You look as if I have just said something that is worth hearing." She continues, glowing green eyes still not moving from Sara's face, "But that was nothing. Really. I have saved you twice from this Pokemon. But do you know, in turn, you have saved him from a life of pure misery?"

"How have I done that?" Sara asks. She was beginning to think that this was all a big dream. Why would Star leave her? She wouldn't ever.

"The band. You have removed the band." She replies in a joyful voice.

"I'm sorry; I don't think I follow what you're saying. By touching that… band, which was fragile to begin with to be sure, I've saved that Deckadrill from a horrible life?"

"Yes, that's exactly what happened. You, Lady, have the Touch." The Solonfree said 'Touch' like it was an extremely big deal.

"Right… I don't really think so." Sara, by now, was sure that this was a dream. Talking Solonfree? Not a chance…

"Oh Lady! Such the modest one you are!" She exclaims, fluttering down and landing next to Sara. Golden light sparkles from the Solonfree's form, sort of like the evolutionary light. But this couldn't possibly be an evolution, because what appeared in the Solonfree's place didn't look anything like her.

Towering over Sara stood a bird that could scratch her cheek on the top of one of the old trees that loomed close to them. The bird had feathers that glowed a sparkling golden, and seemed to be made of light. She bent her massive head down so it would be level with Sara and gave her a long look with deep, emerald green eyes. When the bird finally spoke, her beak did not move. Instead, her voice rang as a smooth melody in Sara's head.

"_Lady. I've been waiting for you for the longest time. There is something I have to tell you."_

"Me? Uh, why do I have the feeling that you have to wrong girl..."

"_Nonsense. I've seen you work your magic right before my very eyes. Seriously Lady, you are. My Lady, Sara, there will be many dangers in your future. You will gain new friends, but beware, as there shall be a mortal you cannot trust." _The bird pauses before adding, _"If ever you are in danger, just whistle."_

The bird spread one massive golden wing and touched the ground with it. Sara was expecting the wing to disappear into the ground, as it looked to be made of pure light. But it didn't, and as the giant creature refolded her wing, she began to fade. _"Remember what I have said Lady. Remember your destiny."_

"But wait! What am I supposed to do?" Sara called after the fading figure of the bird.

Faint, hardly audible words reached her. _"Just… whistle…" _The bird of light was then gone, and no matter what Sara said, she wouldn't come back. After a while, the Deckadrill began to wake up. His eyes didn't glow, nor where they bloody red anymore. He stood and looked at Sara for a long while. Then, sweeping his left forearm over his chest, the Deckadrill bows to Sara and flits away.

"Strange." Sara mused. This had been a very interesting dream, now all she had to do was wake up. There was still no sign of Star, Drake, or Dorovi, so Sara took this time to look over the spot that the bird had touched. What she found was a whistle, made of almost clear metal that gave of a golden shine. It was attached to a long, tan cord that easily fit around Sara's neck, and gave enough room for her to be able to pull the whistle up to her lips.

It was pretty, even if it did look pretty useless. Sara gave it a couple of toots to hear what it sounded like, and to her horror it let out a hideous sounding string of notes. But she didn't have much more time alone, as Star came flapping back to her, chirruping madly.

"_Sara! Where in the world were you? That Deckadrill could have hurt you, or worst!" _She snaps as she hovers in front of Sara, _"But Drake and Dorovi found something very interesting."_

With that, Star beckoned for Sara to follow. She did, and Star led her across a couple of yards to Drake. He was standing on a hill, and looking down. Sara went up next to him, muttering a 'hello' and followed where he was looking. Across a small clearing, very close to them, was another city. "It's not Jade City though." Drake told her, "That is Peacock City, where we'll still find a Gym, the Flying Gym to be exact."

Drake flashed a smile and murmurs, "Ready?"

Sara pauses, then nods, "Last person there's a rotten egg!" And she sped through the clearing, Drake following close behind.


	5. Lord of the Red Eyes

**(It is now Chapter five. **

**Cursedninetales, exactly what I was thinking! **

**All credit for Elvina goes to Moonyasha, who let me 'borrow' her. No stealing! Please tell me what you think about this Chapter through a review.)**

Peacock City was huge. The next day, after Sara and Drake had eaten and fed their Pokemon, they both went out to explore. It was at this time that Sara explained what had happened yesterday. She didn't expect Drake to believe her, but luckily there had been one eye-witness, Star. She'd seen the bird made of light right before she had vanished.

It took a while to tell the story; Star kept adding in things and exaggerating their flight from the Deckadrill. "So, you're like some Pokemon hero?" Drake asks after they'd finished arguing.

"Yeah. It was really freaky too; she treated me like I'm something incredibly special." Sara responds.

"Ha! You don't know that you are really something special!" Drake teases, and Star chirps in agreement.

"_You're almost as bad as me. But I'm the queen of special." _She says haughtily.

Drake rolls his eyes after Dorovi had translated what Star had just said. "Yah know, there's a Gym here that we've got to visit."

"A Flying Gym too. Star will be in her prime." Sara says, and the Taillow puffs up proudly on Sara's shoulder.

"_Got that right."_

Sara and Drake made their way across the crowded city, and in the direction of the tallest building there: Peacock Gym. Two guards stood at the entrance, they looked to be exact copies of the guards at Opal Gym. But someone was already there, a long-haired girl that stood a little over five feet looked to be arguing with the guards. Her hair could be called unusual, it was a medium shade of blue.

"…I'm telling you to step aside!" She was saying as Sara and Drake got within earshot. From their vantage point, they could see that the girl was pale, but not too much so. She's slender, but has a slightly muscled frame.

"Not a chance ma'am." Responded the taller guard, "You can see to the Fearow's health, when he's in the Pokemon Center. Sorry, but you're going to have to step aside. There are people that actually battle here."

"Well I never! You are going to let me in there, even if I have to fight you to get through!" The girl snaps as she turns to see who the guards were talking about. Her sea green eyes darted from Drake to Sara, then to Star, and back to Drake. "You've got to be kidding me. A pair of… rookies like you are going to be battling!" She began to giggle.

That ruffled Sara's feathers very well, "ROOKIES! We are not rookies! Are we Drake?"

"Uh, well… err… no, of course not!" He stammers in reply. The girl just laughs harder.

"Good luck then." She finally says, and turns back to the guards. "I want to watch. Surly you can't deny me that?"

The guards looked edgy, "Well ma'am…" One began, and took a long hard look at the girl before nodding. With a huff, the girl entered Peacock Gym, followed by Drake and Sara after they had informed the guards of who they are and where they're from.

The crowd in Peacock Gym looked to be more civilized then the one at Opal Gym. They didn't boo when the referee announced them, frankly, they cheered. It was the other way around for the Gym leaders too, Mitch and Laura, they got hisses from the crowd.

In the battle that followed, they were all to use two Pokemon. Vulpix and Horsea got exercise as well as Star and Dorovi. But still it wasn't enough. At the end of the battle, they knew why the two Gym leaders were out of favor with the crowd though. Mitch and Laura were merciless, they didn't need to send out any new Pokemon, their Pelipper and Fearow did a wonderful job. The Fearow did look very sick, he was probably the one that girl wanted to get to. But dull feathers didn't stop him from flying in circles around Star, who was definitely out winged by both of the other birds.

Sara and Drake trudged out of the Gym, heads down and neither wanting to talk. Star was back in her Pokeball, as was Dorovi. Neither of them noticed the blue-haired girl fall in behind them, her having been kicked out again by the two guards. The three of them went strait to the Pokemon Center, where Drake and Sara turned in their Pokemon with glum faces and sat side-by-side on the cushioned couch off to the side.

"Hey." The girl says, causing the pair to notice her for the first time since after the battle. "I'm sorry."

"For what? If you mean the 'rookie' thing, you were right." Sara murmurs, looking up at the neon sign of a red needle and sighs. It was still lit; Star, Dorovi, Vulpix, and Horsea were probably all being deposited in the emergency room by now. Star for sure, she'd taken the most damage of the four.

"No, I'm not sorry for that." She replies, "I'm sorry about your Pokemon. But maybe I can help you two."

"How?" Drake asks suddenly, looking up into her sea green eyes.

The girl took over the remaining spot on the couch next to Drake and sighs. "I'm a Pokemon trainer too. My Pokemon can help, practice battles are their specialty."

"But will our Pokemon get any experience from practice battles."

"Of course! Even the most powerful trainers have to admit they've used this method to train their Pokemon!"

Sara finally nods, "Sounds good, thanks." And after that, they three of them sat in silence for a long while. Over that time, Nurse Joy came out and informed them that Star had been taken into intensive care. She didn't scold Sara for getting her Pokemon in that condition, but did look sorry when Sara informed her that it was a Gym battle that had injured her Pokemon.

After Nurse Joy left, the blue-haired girl yawns. "So, are you two just going to stay down in the dumps?" Sara nods. "Then we'll have to do something about that, won't we?"

She draws a Pokeball off her belt and lets the Pokemon inside of it out on Sara's lap. A small, very fluffy Eevee sat and gave Sara a wide eyed look. "Eeev?" He asks the girl, who nods.

"This is Huan." She says as the Eevee made himself comfy on Sara's lap.

"And you are?" Drake prompted as Sara gently began to stroke Huan across his back. His warmth helped her dreadful mood.

"And I'm Elvina." The girl responds, and Huan nods. Drake stated his name and Elvina grins at him. "Drake's a nice name."

She turned to Sara, who at that moment burst into tears. "It's all my fault!" She wailed. Huan paws at her gently, mewing softly to calm her. Elvina frowned, and Drake hugged Sara briefly. It took a while, but Sara finally mutters her name to Elvina before breaking out into uncontrollable sobs again.

Dinner time came then, Drake and Elvina found a challenge in getting Sara to eat some of the steaming beef stew that Nurse Joy served them. She wouldn't have any, and pushed it away no matter what was said to her.

Huan fell asleep in Sara's lap, but Elvina made no move to wake him. By nine Sara had cried herself to sleep. Drake fell asleep soon after, as did Elvina.

Sara didn't have a very good night's rest. She kept waking up to look back at the neon sign, which still glowed brightly. She didn't sob much though, she'd had enough of that. Huan's light snoring kept her company through the long night.

The neon sign finally turned off right before the sun rose. Sara was, of course, already awake and she carefully moved Juan to sleep on the couch as she tiptoes over to Nurse Joy, who had appeared from behind one of the doors.

"Your Taillow will be perfectly fine." The Nurse informed Sara quietly as she saw the blonde's anxious look. "Would you like to visit her?" Sara nods quickly, and follows Nurse Joy into the recovery room. Star, looking quite ruffled, had bandages over both her wings. She was sitting on her own personal bed, which was white and looked quite comfy. She shot a passing Chansey a sleepy glare as Sara slowly approached her.

"Hi Star." Sara says quietly, and the Taillow turned her drowsy eyes on her. She feared the worst, Star was probably going to give Sara a piece and a half of her mind. But to Sara's surprise, Star twittered happily to her.

"_Sara! You wouldn't believe the fights I've been having with these Chansey! They wouldn't let me out to visit you…" _Star chirps out quickly, her eyelids drooping. _"They say I'm too hurt." _She motions to another Chansey with one of her wings, and lets out a squawk of pain.

"Oh Star, Star don't do that!" Sara exclaims, causing her Taillow to jump.

"Chansey!" One of the Chansey exclaims as she tugs on Sara's shirt collar.

"In a minute…" She says, trying to brush the Chansey away. It wasn't happening.

"Chan-seeeyyy!" The Chansey roars and Sara found herself being slapped across the face a couple of times.

"Bye Star…" Sara mumbles as she was dragged out of the room, Star watched her go with sad eyes.

Over then next week; Sara, Drake, and Elvina spent most of their time in the recovery room with Star, and later Dorovi. They were being spoiled by all the attention, many townspeople came and wished all of their Pokemon a good recovery. And after a week of care, recover they did. Star was back in 'prime form' and stuck to Sara's shoulder without bandages.

As promised, Elvina led them out to the same clearing they'd entered Peacock City with, and paired the Pokemon up accordingly. She only had three Pokemon, so Horsea got to sit out.

Star was 'fighting' Elvina's Seel, Foam, and wasn't doing so well. Foam on the other hand, was having great fun, bouncing Star playfully on his tail.

Dorovi and Huan were a pair, Dorovi shot water at Huan, he dodged it easily. Fact is, all of Elvina's Pokemon were stronger then Drake and Sara's Pokemon. This really showed in the pairing of Vulpix and Elvina's Growlithe, Blaze. The two of them shot jets of flame at each other, Blaze being far more accurate then Vulpix.

After about an hour of this; Vulpix, Star, and Dorovi all collapsed in defeat. Over the cheers of her Pokemon, Elvina yells, "Alright, now onward into the forest! Endurance is a test here too!" She made them all, trainers and Pokemon alike, jog or fly around the forest a long while.

This was the training schedule Elvina put all of them on. While Sara and Drake returned with sore legs, their Pokemon returned, normally with sore muscles all around. Elvina and her Pokemon were quite used to this schedule; they'd been doing it like this since Elvina became a trainer, three years!

After five days of this, Elvina called a rest day. A 'rest day' means that all they have to do is stroll around Forest Path for a while. Star was looking glossier feathered, even though she didn't want to admit it, these practice battles were helping her. She rested on Sara's wrist, as far away from Foam as possible, who was actually in his Pokeball. Drake and Dorovi walked ahead, both limping slightly from all the running they'd been doing, and Elvina next to Sara, carrying Huan.

"Why aren't there ever any Pokemon here?" Sara asks thoughtfully, noticing that Forest Path looked very uninhabited.

"You just don't know where to look." Elvina responds, and stops at one of the bushes. She pulls it apart to reveal a Spearow. He cocked his head at Sara and Elvina once, then turned and disappeared into the undergrowth. "Most Pokemon here are very shy."

"_That's true." _Vulpix says from behind Sara, she'd been bringing up the rear with her new friend, Blaze. Blaze made no move to translate that to his trainer.

"There's another one up in that tree." Elvina whispers, pointing up. Sara peaked over to look at it, gasps loudly, and pulls away like she'd been slapped. Up in that tree was a Spearow, wearing a black band and glaring at her through red eyes.

Elvina blinks at Sara, and parted the tree branches to get a good look at the Spearow and laughs. "Don't worry Sara, that's just a red-eyed Spearow. They're quite common around here."

Sara swallows hard and glances at Star, who looked uneasy, and sighs. "That's not good." She states, and right at that moment, the red-eyed Spearow let out a loud, raucous call and swooped down to attack Sara. Star reached quickly, and had wrestled the Spearow to the ground in seconds. When he was lying flat, Star stopped attacking and looked back at her shaking trainer.

_You, Lady, have the touch. _The light bird's words rang in her ears as Sara reached out a tapped the black band, watching it turn into a thin grey dust that was easily carried away by the wind.

Elvina watched all this wordlessly, as Drake came running back. "Run!" He yells as he and Dorovi nearly trample the Spearow on their way past. Sara and Star exchange glances, before hearing what Drake was running from. A flock of innumerable red-eyed Spearow were cawing and squawking as they followed Drake through the forest.

They turned tail and ran as well, Sara holding the still knocked out Spearow. Unlike the Beedrill swarm that had followed them once before, the Spearow are faster, and they had begun to peck at them all as they arrived in the clearing. Drake and Dorovi had stopped; they were staring at a tall man wearing a black top-hat. On his shoulder sat a very large red-eyed Fearow, one of those black bands around her neck.

The Spearow didn't touch the man and his Fearow; they wouldn't fly past him to get to Sara, Drake, Elvina, and their Pokemon. The man turned to them and grinned, flashing a very pointed smile. His greasy black hair was very short cropped; most of it didn't show under his top-hat. He wore long clothes, decorated in a black and white color swirl, and looked very hot. "So, my Spearow have found you huh?" He asks in a voice as smooth and cold as ice.

"You own these Spearow?"

"Did I stutter? Yes little lady, I do own them." The Fearow on his shoulder crooned to the huge flock of Spearow, which answered in a joint screech.

Sara eyed the man uneasily, "And who might you be?"

"I, little girl, am the Lord of the red-eyes. Keep that in mind, shall you?" He answers, then snaps his fingers lazily. The Spearow swooped on them then, sharp beaks and claws aimed to cut and score.

The man's Fearow took flight and soared above them. Star broke out of the cloud of Spearow and followed her. Sara shouted above the clatter of caws at Star to be careful, as she attempted to break some of the black bands on the Spearows. She'd succeeded in destroying a couple, in turn the freed Spearows attacked back at the ones still with red eyes.

Above, the Fearow and Star had begun to battle. The 'Lord of the red-eyes' had turned away from the flock of Spearow to order his Fearow in the battle. "Fury Attack." He called, and she responded by landing an onslaught of pecks on Star. She, in turn, whacked the Fearow across the head a couple of times with her wings.

"Give it up little bird! There's no way you can win this battle!" The man yells, laughing coldly as Star was knocked to the ground.

"_NO!" _Star squawks loudly, _"I will not lose! I will not give in!" _Sara gasps as she saw what was happening to Star. There was a bright, blinding flash of white light, and then a blur had taken flight again.

There was a loud, warbling cry, and the blur had tackled Fearow and sent her plummeting to the ground. In the Fearow's place flew a large bird, which had beautifully slick and shimmering feathers. She was a- "Swellow." Sara gasps, pausing to stare at Star.

Another of the Spearow began to pull tufts of Sara's hair out, waking her out of her trance. She shatters his band and then, wielding her backpack to slap at any other Spearow, Sara fights her way out of the cloud of Spearow and to the unmoving Fearow. "Star!" Sara exclaims, as the larger (and heavier) bird came to a slightly awkward rest on her shoulder.

"_The Fearow, if you will." _Star responds, her voice had deepened and become less shrill. Sara nods, and bends carefully to shatter the band on the Fearow's neck. All at once, the rest of the Spearow stopped battling, their bands falling off.

"You get the leader, you get her cronies." The man says with a fake sigh, "Too bad this was just a test for you three. Congrats, you failed with flying colors!" He cackles evilly, turns, and walks into the underbrush quickly, out of sight.

All of the Spearow, except for the first one, which was nowhere to be seen, took flight again and, heaving one last joint cry, they split up and scattered into the forest. The man had left his Fearow, which also took off into the forest after shooting Star a very weary glance.

"You… were… awesome!" Sara finally exclaims, plucking her Swellow off her shoulder, and hugging her gently.

"_Murrr, yeah, you're right." _Star responds, absorbing all the attention like a sponge.

Drake joined Sara, and Star had let them pet her silky feathers. Elvina didn't join them though, she stood with her Pokemon looking back into Forest Path, muttering to herself. After a while, the rest of them joined her, just to hear her say, "…Pain. They were all in pain. Begging for mercy, begging for help."

Sara clears her throat and Elvina whirls around. "This is not good." Elvina states. "And why in the world Sara, you of all people, could you break those things and we couldn't?"

"Well Elvina… it's a long story and…"

"We've got time." She responds stubbornly. So Sara –and Star- told her the whole story about their adventures, from the beginning. Elvina listened, nodding occasionally, but her Pokemon never translating what Star was saying. Finally, when they were done, Elvina was looking very thoughtful. "And this bird kept calling you 'Lady'? Don't you think that maybe there could be some connection with that and something else?"

"Maybe…" Sara mumbles.

"_Or maybe Sara's just a lady. It sounds like you don't believe she is one. You wouldn't know anyways…"_

Elvina's Pokemon still didn't translate, "I'll have you know that I am sixteen! A lady I don't doubt Sara is, but my goodness! What a cheeky bird you are!" She exclaims, and it wasn't just Star that was staring at her.

"_She understood you!" _Vulpix says to Star, whose glossy feathers had ruffled in shock.

"Oh boy…" Elvina mumbles, "Yeah, I did understand her. I understand all Pokemon…"

"Oh my gosh! Why didn't you tell us?" Drake asks.

"Well, not many people can warm up to a HAP." Elvina mumbles.

"HAP?"

"Stands for Hears All Pokemon. It's a trait in my family. A lot of people are jealous of me…"

"_Well you're our friend. We won't cast you aside just because I can't talk about you without you knowing it." _Star finally says firmly.

Elvina blinks at her, "My you are a cheeky bird. Uh… do you two mind if I come with you?" She says slowly.

Sara smiles, "Sure! Now come on, we've got badges to win!"


	6. Struggle for the Peacock Badge

**(The name problem has been fixed. The Eevee's nickname is Huan, not Juan. **

**CyberfrogX, I thank you! **

**Okay, now that that's settled, Chapter six!)**

In a matter of minutes, the trio found themselves outside Peacock Gym again. The same guards were flanking the doors; they took one look at Elvina and locked their axes together in front of the door.

"We're here to challenge the Gym leaders, and she's here to watch." Sara growls at them, a little louder then she should have. The guards exchanged glances before nodding, and permitting the three inside the Gym. Star had agreed to return to her Pokeball, to surprise Mitch and Laura.

Elvina joined the crowd, getting in as close to the battlefield as possible. The referee, wearing a perfectly tailored suit, announced the rules like the last time. Four Pokemon on each side, no time limit. And when he was done with his speech, the referee raised two flags to signal the battle's beginning.

Mitch and Laura let out the same two Pokemon as before, a Fearow that looked in pretty bad shape, and a Pelipper. Sara started with Vulpix, Drake with Horsea.

"Horsea, Bubblebeam the Fearow!" Drake calls out, his Horsea nods and shoots out a stream of bubbles that hit their mark. On orders from Mitch, the Fearow strikes back with a Fury Attack that hit Horsea twice before he rolled out of its way.

"Vulpix, knock the Pelipper out of the sky with Quick Attack!" Sara exclaims, and watches as her Vulpix slammed her body at a breakneck speed onto the Pelipper's back. She went, as Sara had hopped, flopping to the floor with a victorious looking Vulpix on her back. "Now you can give it the hot foot!" Vulpix nods and blasts an Ember at her captive's feet before being sent flying off of the annoyed Pelipper.

"Water Gun, Horsea!" Horsea blasted a jet of water flying Fearow, which also hit its mark and shot the soaked bird out of the sky.

Sara took advantage of this, "Vulpix, use Confuse Ray!" Her Vulpix's eyes glowed a ghastly grey for a moment, until Fearow caught sight of them and was thrown into a fit. The confused Fearow took flight awkwardly, and when Mitch ordered him to use Aerial Ace, he did attack… Pelipper.

It appeared that the Pelipper took offence to this, because she hit Fearow with several Water Guns before Laura took control of her again. Fearow still was confused though, but in a very bad condition.

"Vulpix, finish the Fearow with Quick Attack!" Sara calls, and her Pokemon slams into the Fearow's chest, causing it to flop over onto the ground, motionless.

"Fearow is unable to battle!" The referee exclaims, and cheers broke out from the crowd, "Mitch is down one Pokemon! If the battle is to continue, he must…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Got your next Pokemon right here!" Mitch growls with an evil grin, before tossing a Pokeball to reveal another bird Pokemon, a Chikpea.

"**Chikpea, the grass fowl Pokemon. Nobody knows if it's a plant or animal." **Sara's Pokedex says in its male computer voice. The Chikpea looked to be a normal sized chicken, the only exception being that she has green feathers and vines curled around her talons.

"This'll be simple! Vulpix, use Ember on the Chikpea!" Sara exclaims to her Pokemon, who nods and sends a small jet of flame headed in the grass bird's direction. The Chikpea let out a mournful cry.

Pelipper used Water Gun on Vulpix then, soaking her and putting out her flames. Horsea used Bubblebeam on the Pelipper, causing little damage. Chikpea pecked Horsea, she wasn't able to fly over to Horsea, her wings were too short. Horsea had enough then, as he fainted from the Peck attack. Drake recalled him and sent out Dorovi in his place.

Sara told Vulpix to attempt Flamethrower, and with a slight struggle to get her flame lighted again, Vulpix succeeded in dousing Chikpea with a torrent of flames that knocked her out. The referee blew his whistle. "Mitch is out of this battle! It is just Laura's two Pokemon left against three of the challengers'!" The crowd went into hysterics just then.

Laura wasn't afraid though, "Pelipper, it's time you knocked that pain Vulpix out! Use Water Gun!" Her own Pokemon soaked Vulpix thoroughly. Vulpix, letting out a small squeak of a cry, flopped over and fainted.

"So, it's just your little Taillow left, isn't it, kid? Ha, she won't last long this time either!" Mitch shouted from over the battlefield. Sara shot him a glare that could melt paint off of a car, then pulls Star's Pokeball from off her belt.

"You'll see." Sara mutters calmly as she tosses the Pokeball and Star appears in a burst of light. She could see Mitch's face twist in shock. Star trumpeted loudly as she glares at Pelipper.

On command from Sara, Star took flight and shot off like a lightning bolt, her wings colliding smoothly with Pelipper's forehead. The Pelipper lets out a pitiful squawk as she, too, was sent plummeting to the ground. Laura's face twisted with fury as she recalls her fallen Pokemon. The referee announced matter-of-factly that the Gym leaders only have one Pokemon left, fighting two nearly fresh Pokemon from the challengers' side.

Laura didn't care, actually, she was laughing. "Poor Pokemon. Too bad you're placing them in a battle they can't possibly win." With another couple of laughs, Laura tossed her last Pokeball to reveal what looked to be a giant… peacock.

"**Pekadatle, the peacock Pokemon. Male Pekadatle are known for their long, beautiful tail feathers." **Sara grimaced at this. Laura's Pekadatle must be male then; by the way he had spread long, glistening tail feathers and was strutting in front of Star, who didn't look amused.

"_Show off." _Star mutters before the referee said something that the crowd must have believed, because they gasped loudly.

"Laura has used this Pekadatle in most matches. Only three of the many challengers have defeated him. I must warn the challenging trainers, what you see is not what it appears to be." He said all this with a grim look on his face, the whole of the crowd was staring at the Pekadatle like it would explode any time now. "Let the match continue!"

"Go Star! Use Wing Attack!" Sara exclaims to her Swellow, who chirrups loudly before flapping off in the Pekadatle's direction quickly, wings outstretched.

"Metal morph." Laura says simply and the blush colored feathers on Pekadatle's chest turned a steely grey. Star hit his chest with a metallic clunk. She turned around to stare at Sara, looking slightly startled.

"Dorovi, use Water Gun!" Drake says, and Dorovi soaked the metallic colored Pekadatle with a stream of water.

"Thunder morph." Laura states, and waits for her Pekadatle's feathers to turn an electrified yellow, then exclaims, "Type Ball!" Her Pokemon stiffened for a second, before opening his beak wide and shooting a ball of thunder directly at Dorovi. It hit him with a slight hiss of thunder.

When the attack had cleared, Dorovi lay on his side, twitching slightly but making no move to get up. "And challenger Drake's Dorovi is unable to battle! That means that it's just the challenger Sara verses Gym leader Laura! Can the challenger beat such horrible odds?"

"_You bet your tail feathers she can!" _Star snaps at his irritably. She circles around the battlefield a couple of times before diving to hit Pekadatle in the head. He dodges it quickly, and gives Star a whack across her head with one yellowish wing.

"Use another Type Ball!" Laura orders, and her Pekadatle began the process of making another ball of thunder and hurling it at Star. It misses her by inches as she back wings out if it's way.

It was then that Sara heard Elvina whispering, "Sara! Psst!" And turned to see Elvina impersonating Pekadatle when he was first sent out, she was attempting to strut, using her arms as two long tail feathers. She waves her left hand at Sara, then pulled it away from her 'backside' and pretended the tail feather was in her mouth. Sara watched as she repeated that with the other arm, before realizing what she was trying to say.

Sara called Star over to her, and whispered what she wanted the Swellow to do. Star looked overjoyed by the time she'd finished, and flapped away happily to obey Sara.

Pekadatle sent another Type Ball hurtling towards Star, which she avoided yet again, before swooping down over him, talons extended. There was a loud exclamation of pain from the Pekadatle as Star did what she was intending to do… rip out two of his tail feathers. The rest of his feathers almost immediately turned back to their original blush color.

"Star, finish him with another Wing Attack!" Sara exclaims and Star, still clutching the two long tail feathers, slams her right wing across Pekadatle's back. He stumbles, lets out a small squeak, and falls motionlessly onto the ground. The crowd stared at him for a long while, not making a sound, before bursting out into overwhelming applause.

"We did it! We did it!" Sara and Drake exclaim, jumping up and down happily.

Laura was shaking her head as she recalled Pekadatle, "I don't believe it." She grumbles before placing two badges in Star's beak and walking away, followed by Mitch.

Star wasted no time; she presented Drake with his badge, and gave Sara one of the feathers and her badge. The Pekadatle feather was elegant, its many colors whirling in a vivid pattern. No unlike the rainbow stone set in the center of the Peacock badge, complimented with the four pointed copper star it was embedded in. Like the Opal badge, it was quite small, with the copper molded to bed up from the tips.

Elvina got to them before the rest of the crowd, carrying the other Pekadatle feather and grinning from ear to ear. She embraced Drake, then Sara, during which time Sara got the chance to mutter in her ear. "You don't make a very good Pekadatle." Elvina chuckled at that.

The crowd then swarmed them, picking Star and the trainers up and carrying them out of the Gym. They all wanted to touch Star's glossy feathers, and she let them because of her good mood. Then, still cheering, the crowd let the four of them down in front of the Pokemon Center and turn away with wide smiles on their own faces.


	7. Alkernos of the Desert

**(Well, I'm sorry this is so late. Now that Easter vacation is over, I won't be submitting chapters as often anymore. More like two a week instead of five. Anyways, here's Chapter seven!)**

Over the next seven days, the trio has been on the move. Elvina was the one who insisted that they go back to Jade City to earn the second badge first. She had led the way through Forest Path to it, a journey that lasted four days. The fifth day consisted of a one-sided battle at the Jade City Gym, in which Drake and Sara pulverized the Gym leaders' two Pokemon.

They earned the Jade badge, a tiny iron four pointed star with a cheap polished green stone embedded in its center. One the sixth and seventh day, the trio hung around Jade City for a while, a well deserved rest for them. Jade City was like a tropical get-a-way, complete with palm trees and a strip of beach. The dock was stationed on that beach, very few trainers moved onto the boats going out though, because they needed all ten badges to get onto it. Fact is, the boats there are ferrying trainers to the Jewel Islands, to fight the big four and earn recognition as Pokemon Masters. The sailors didn't let Drake or Sara on either. ("Wha'? Only t'ree badges?" A sailor barks.)

So, giving the time they'd goofed off, the trio has set off now to the Sun Desert and Inferno Town. None of them wanted to leave the beach behind, except Star who wants to get a move-on, but they did anyway partly because of the Swellow's nagging.

The lush grasses and beautiful smells behind them now, the trio is fit to thank Star. (_"It was nothing really, just a little pressure." _Star cheeps proudly.) Sun Desert has clear skies right now, with no wind blowing to stop their progress. By Elvina's calculations, they'd get to Inferno Town by nightfall.

Star, who is now flying bored circles around Sara, chirps, _"How much longer?"_

"A lot longer." Elvina responds for Sara when her nose buried in a map, "We should be getting there, OUCH!" A boy about Sara's age, with white-blonde hair and large grey eyes had just collided with her. He looked panicked as Elvina gets up and approaches him.

"I-I-I'm sorry m-ma'am, I didn't m-m-mean to." He whimpers, backing up so quickly that sand was flying everywhere. There was a neigh, and a Ponyta appeared in the middle of the gap between the boy and Elvina, fiery mane ablaze. "Don't be a hero Alkie!" The boy cries, rushing over to hug the Ponyta around her neck.

Star lets out a string of raucous laughs, _"Alkie! A ha ha!" _She attempts to land on the Ponyta's back, but screeches instead as she was repelled by Alkie's heat.

"Darn. I was hoping she'd get burned." Elvina says with a grin as Star chirrups angrily at her. She turns from Star to the boy and continues, "It's alright kid. My goodness, do you think I'd breathe fire on you for just bumping into you?"

She must have said something really bad, because the boy went white as a sheet and began to tremble, even if he was holding onto his hot Ponyta. "T-the last g-guy did! W-w-we were looking for r-ruins, Alkie and I… and then t-this guy in a t-top hat came and… and…" His last words were cut off by sobs. Sara approaches the boy cautiously because of Alkie, and gently pats the boy on his back.

"It's alright kid, the only ones of us that can breathe fire are safe in their Pokeballs. Now, did you say a guy in a top hat?" She says and the boy nods slowly.

"Y-yeah, a b-b-black top hat." Sara, upon hearing this, exchanges glances with her friends before swallowing.

"And did he happen to tell you his name?" She asks slowly.

"Uh… yes, h-he said he's… the Lord of the red-eyes." The boy's words were met by gasps.

"Oh this is just wonderful! That nut is still out there!" Sara exclaims, taking a couple of steps away from the boy and pacing. "What are we going to do now?"

"Look for ruins?" The boy suggests mildly, earning glares all around.

"What do ruins have to do with anything?" Drake asks him, and the boy shrugs.

"That's how I found him, looking for ruins."

"And why are you looking for ru-ahhhh!" Sara had walked on the wrong spot, the sand beneath her feet gave way, and she fell.

"Sara!" Drake exclaims as he jumps down the hole, which was about ten feet in circumference, and falls after her. Elvina, rolling her eyes, follows him, leaving Star with the boy and his Ponyta.

"Ready Alkie?" He asks timidly, Alkie nods and jumps into the hole, followed by him. Star snorts and lands at the edge.

"_What's it like down there?" _She calls from her perch, laughing loudly. Star was laughing so hard that she didn't even notice the sand beneath her talons was slipping, and that she was slipping along with it. She only noticed when she tumbled head-first down into the hole, slipping along and down.

Star landed with a plop in a circular room, only lit by Alkie's mane and tail. The moldy, grey stone walls had etchings on them that appeared to by letters with eyes, Unown. Directly in the center, a portion of the stone floor had been raised, level with two holes in the walls.

"We found it Alkie! We found it!" The boy exclaims happily.

"_Correction, Sara found it… more like fell in it." _Star snaps.

"Jacob, that's Star. Star, Jacob. We were just introducing each other before you fell in." Elvina says.

"So, now what?" Sara asks, looking around.

"So now we follow the instructions on the walls… give me a second and I'll translate them… Alkie come here! That's better." Jacob was saying as he approaches the start of the runes and read, circling the ruin twice before he was finished. "'Only when the two stones of fire meet may the victorious one rise to power. Only when one star alight, will the Goddess rise.' See? We've just go to place these two stones here and then the Goddess will rise!" He points to the two holes and digs two identical red-orange stones out of his bag.

"Hold on a second! What makes you so sure that this is going to work?" Sara asks pointedly, with a chirp of agreement from Star.

"Because," Jacob replies as he set the first stone, which was a perfect fit, into its hole. "Alkie's the victorious one the wall's talking about. She told me herself."

"What?" Drake asks, confused, "But how could she be this so called 'victorious one' when this ruin in general is thousands of years old?"

"Alkie told me. She's the victorious one, Alkernos, the Desert Goddess." Jacob says, and looks around to see that nobody but Alkie knew what he was talking about. "Okay, a long long time ago, Pokemon trainers of old used to use their Ponyta here, in Sun Desert, in tournament style battles. The Ponyta who won was proclaimed Alkernos, or the Desert Goddess, and came here for her evolution. There really is a Desert Goddess here, right here in front of us: Alkie."

"Okay then." Sara mumbles, backing up a bit, "That's a nice story and all, but…"

"IT'S NOT A STORY!" Jacob yells, "It's the truth! But Alkie never became a goddess, because on her victory day she was… she was…" He paused to sniffle, "She was killed." Jacob mumbles faintly.

"But if she was killed, would she not be here?" Sara asks, trying to think logically.

"You'd think that, wouldn't you?" Another voice came from the entrance to the ruins. Everyone whirled to see that the so called 'Lord of the red-eyes' was standing there, smirking at Jacob. "But maybe she's just a figment of everybody's imagination." He continues, walking slowly towards Jacob with an evil grin across his face.

"Go away." Jacob growls, anger contorting his face. "I've gotten to this ruin before you did, now go away."

"Why should I? When you yourself have a right to know that your Ponyta doesn't exist!" He continues, still grinning evilly at Jacob.

"She does too! Alkie does exist!" Jacob cries. Star, not able to take any more of this, dives onto the Lord of the red-eyes and begins to peck at his head.

Crying franticly, and making a complete fool out of himself, he runs in circles screaming and shaking his head, trying to get Star off of him. Jacob used this time to lock the other stone into its hole. There seemed to be a mini-earthquake going on then, because the whole place was shaking hard. Star finally let go of the Lord of the red-eyes and takes flight were the air wasn't shaking.

When the shaking had finished, an eerie beam red-orange light was glowing out of the stones. Jacob looked ecstatic, he gave Alkie a push forward, and she trotted slowing onto the raised portion of the floor. Both beams hit the Ponyta at the same time, as Alkie stood there, the light collected around the side of her body, growing brighter and brighter every moment.

BANG! In a fiery explosion, the light from the stones, and Alkie disappeared. There were many exclamations as all the light in the ruin went out completely. "Alkie!" Jacob cries out, the sound of sobbing coming from his side of the ruin.

The Lord of the red-eyes, now scratched up badly, lets out a loud and high pitched laugh. "What were you expecting little boy, hmmm? For your Ponyta to actually evolve? Ha! You don't understand, your little made-up Alkernos Pokemon doesn't exist-"

He was cut off by Jacob, who now sounded infuriated, "First you say that Alkie doesn't exist; now you're telling me that Alkernos doesn't exist! Make up your mind half-wit!"

Another cold laugh from the Lord of the red-eyes, "Neither exist, dear boy." There was a pause, before he adds, "And now I've got to go kiddies! Have fun in your little ruin!" There was the sound of a Pokeball being thrown, followed by a brief flash of light in which a large bird Pokemon that couldn't quite be seen out of the darkness appeared. It let the 'Lord' onto its back, and soared out of the hole that leads into the sunshine.

"Now what?" Sara heard Elvina grumble, before getting a bright idea.

"Elvina! What about our fire Pokemon!" She exclaims before letting Vulpix out of her Pokeball, cursing herself for not thinking of her sooner. Elvina must have caught on, because she sent out Blaze.

"Ember!" They both ordered at the same time, and the fire types let out a belch of flames that instantly lit up the darkness of the ruin. Jacob was huddled off to the side, sobbing uncontrollably. Star, who had found Drake in the darkness, instantly flew over to comfort him, even if her words had a bit of an edge. (_"You didn't need that Ponyta anyways!"_)

"How are we going to get out of here?" Elvina asks, noticeably giving Star a death glare.

"_Burrowing." _Star responds in an annoyed tone. Elvina glower even more at her.

"Well cheeky one, why don't you go follow mister Lord out into the desert? Who knows, you might actually find a way to help us." But at that very moment, a round bomb with two leering red eyes fell down the hole into the ruin and exploded, causing half the ruin to collapse instantly. Jacob, Sara, Drake, Elvina, Star, Vulpix, and Blaze all huddled into a corner; all looking extremely panicked.

"Oh man! We're doomed, we're doomed!" Jacob cries, tears still spilling out of his eyes. He rocked back and forth, repeating this until Elvina slaps him hard across the face.

An echo of a voice, very familiar to Sara, sounded faintly from the side of the wall that hadn't been destroyed that she was leaning on. _If ever you are in danger, just whistle…_

Sara jumps, "Did you just hear that?" She looked around at the puzzled faces of her friends.

"Uh, if you're talking about our conversation about getting out of here then, well… yes." Drake responds, looking at her funny. Elvina was shaking her head, murmuring about insanity.

Sara sighs as she takes the necklace with the whistle off her neck. It hummed slightly in her hand, giving it a pleasant feeling. Sara slowly put the whistle to her lips and blew out a couple of notes, expecting the same horrible sound to come out but was very surprised at what did come out instead. A haunting melody piped out of the whistle, flowing into a song that seemed to be sung by a chorus of ghostly figures. Startled by the sound, Sara stopped playing the whistle.

A rumbling issued itself from the wall, a sound that apparently everyone heard, because they all whirled and backed away from it really quickly. The more time passed, the louder the rumbling got, until it filled the ruined ruin fully and shook the walls. The walls soon started to crack and buckle, until they fell apart to reveal a cluster of Pokemon standing at the mouth of a large, funnel like cave.

A dozen or so Trapinch stood at the back of the cluster, behind a couple of Baltoy and five Cacnea. At the head of the line stood a proud looking Vibrava, with a miniature version of the light bird perched on her back.

"_You whistled?" _The smooth melody was back, and it seemed that all could hear it, because Drake, Elvina, and Jacob were staring at the light bird like she was a freak of nature.

"Wow." Drake found his voice first, and splutters that out. The light bird chuckles happily.

"_Follow us." _She sings, and the escort of Pokemon turn and head into the cave. After exchanging wary glances, recalling Vulpix and Blaze because the tunnel was being lighted by the light bird, the rest of them followed close behind.

"_I don't like that Lord guy." _Star says after a while of following the pretty slow procession of Pokemon.

"_Not many Pokemon do." _The light bird responds, talking directly to Star and Sara, _"I shall only tell this to you and your… partner, Lady-" Sara_ looks around to see that nobody else seemed to be listening. _"But I would fear for the mental health of any Pokemon that would like that man. He's nothing but trouble, Lady, but you mustn't pay too much attention on the… ah, servant and more onto his master."_

"What do you mean… err… bird?" Sara whispers, looking into the amused emerald eyes of the light bird.

"_Ah ha, something you should chew on for yourself. It wouldn't be right to tell you what to do, when fate must play a role in this as well." _She still wasn't talking to anyone by Sara and Star. The light bird seemed to be thinking quickly, because she added for everyone to hear, _"And you may also call me Sundav."_

"_Nice name." _Star says with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Sundav ignores her, a wise thing for something that looked like she could disappear any second with a gust of wind.

They passed the rest of the time in the cave in silence. It didn't seem very long to Sara, she had been mulling over the clue Sundav had just given her. But it just didn't make sense to her…

Finally, Sundav addressed everyone again as the cave swerved upward and the sun's light spilled through the exit. _"You all may leave for the desert now. One more thing," She_ turned her head to look at Jacob with piercing emerald eyes. He quickly adjusted his gaze away from hers. _"The one that appears to be lost is not. She, along with two very pretty stones I might add, is waiting for you right above our heads. Good luck to all of you," And_ her gaze turned to Sara in particular, _"And may destiny be on your side." _

With that, Sundav faded away, leaving the Vibrava without a passenger. She and her troupe of Pokemon raced out of the entrance, followed closely by Jacob. After a long pause, in which Jacob had scrambled up the exit, there was a gleeful cry. Sara couldn't help but smile as she and Star followed after him into the still sunny day on the desert.

Jacob was standing a short way off, exclaiming happily to a Pokemon Sara had never seen before. She stood far taller then Jacob, more then six feet tall, and had to bend her long, graceful neck down to get eye lever with him. Her legs were long and elegant, the skin all around being a pale milky white color. Her broad head was framed by two sharply pointed ears that looked like they'd naturally point backwards and a horn about a foot long that glistened like a diamond and curled like a unicorn's horn.

Upon seeing Sara and Star approach, the large horse tossed her head back and kicked up sand with her glistening golden hoofs framed by tufts of flame. A billowing, fire mane that grew far longer then her body looked to be growing hotter as she eyes them with nervous gold eyes.

Turning to see what had gotten his beloved Pokemon upset, Jacob smiles at Sara and pats his Pokemon's head again. "Alkie evolved!" He said with a proud smile, still patting Alkie's head. Alkie snorts and settles down as Drake and Elvina crawl out of the cave exit and stare at Jacob and Alkie.

"She's beautiful Jacob!" Elvina finally says firmly, and Jacob's proud smile widens. Alkie mutters something to Jacob, who nods sadly and jumps onto her back as she stooped to let him on.

"I hope to see you all again someday." Jacob says as Alkie begins to prance in the opposite direction, "Take care!" He yells as his Pokemon fell into full gallop, disappearing from view in a minute.

There was silence for a long while as they stared after him. Finally, Sara mumbles, "So that was an Alkernos."

Star, who had shifted to sit on Sara's shoulder, huffs. "Viiii!" A shrill voice exclaims before she could comment. The same Vibrava sat a little bit off, twitching and jerking her head at Sara. Suddenly, she shot forward, her wings making a high pitched buzzing sound as she half jumped and half flew into Sara's arms.

"Vi, vi, vi!" The Vibrava cried shrilly as she slumped back down to the ground, Sara was so surprised at her actions that she hadn't caught her. But that didn't stop the overexcited Vibrava from jumping back up and looking up at Sara with wide eyes. "Vib-vi!"

"That's interesting." Elvina murmurs to herself. "Sara, this Vibrava is asking to go with you!"

Star ruffles her feathers irritably, _"I could have told you that!"_

"Is that right?" Sara asks the Vibrava, smiling down at her, "You want to come with me?"

"Vi, vi!" The Vibrava nods franticly.

Sara digs a Pokeball out of her pocket and grinning, tosses it at the Vibrava. She disappeared in a flash of light, and soon was captured.

"_Well that was easy." _Star comments as the Pokeball returns to Sara's hand. Sara fits the Pokemon Translator around Vibrava's Pokeball.

Careful to press the green button this time, the gizmo went to work on Vibrava for a while before falling silent. Elvina was pacing impatiently as Sara tossed the Pokeball again.

Vibrava appeared again, took one look at Sara, and exclaims with the same shrill voice, _"Trainer!" _She tackles Sara, who falls over with the Vibrava on top of her, _"Trainer, trainer! I'm-Sandsinger-and-you're-my-trainer-Sara-we're-going-to-have-so-much-fun!" _All this came out as one big blur to Sara, and to Elvina too, she was looking puzzled.

"That's… nice. Could you please get off of me, please Sandsinger?" Sara says, and the Vibrava quickly gets off of her.

"Are we done now?" Elvina snaps impatiently, and Sara nods sheepishly. With a nod, Elvina turns on her heel and head in the direction of Inferno Town, which was now visible under the setting sun. Sandsinger bounced merrily behind her, urging Sara and Star to go faster. Star looked quite annoyed as she flicked sand grains out of her feathers.

"_I have the strangest feeling that we've not going to get along well." _Star comments as she watches Sandsinger bounce.

Sandsinger ignored her with a, _"No-silly! We're-going-to-get-along-great-with-each-other!" _Her shrill, fast speech still hard to follow.

Drake trudged behind Sara, whispering the fact that he was happy that Sandsinger was Sara's Pokemon and that he didn't have to hear her. By the time they all got to Inferno Town, Elvina was fuming, Star snapping, and Sara plugging her ears. Sandsinger didn't seem to care, she just kept on talking… and talking… and talking. It was a relief to enter the Pokemon Center. ("Now Sandsinger, you should be quiet for the sick little Pokemon!" Sara exclaims tiredly.)

Sandsinger finally did be quite, Sara half expected she had talked herself hoarse. After dinner, she fell asleep in a corner with Vulpix next to her. Taking their lead, Sara, Elvina, and Drake with all the rest of their Pokemon fell asleep soon afterwards.


	8. Riddles

"_Sara! Sara, Sara-Sara-Sara!" _Sandsinger exclaims, jumping up and down on her trainer's chest excitedly at three in the morning. _"Wake up! Wake up!"_

Sara groaned loudly and mutters under her breath as she attempts to brush the Vibrava off, with no success.

"_Wake up!" _Sandsinger repeats, her energetic jumping starting to give Sara a bruise.

"Go back to sleep…" Sara head Elvina mumble, but didn't open her eyes to see where she was.

"_NOOOOO!" _The Vibrava exclaims sadly, pausing from her jumping. She then began to buzz her wings loudly in a strange attempt to become air-borne, and making a loud racket in the process.

It didn't take long for everyone else in the Pokemon Center, including a handful of very annoyed looking Chansey, to wake up and start murmuring about the 'crazy Vibrava'. Slightly embarrassed, Sara recalls Sandsinger and waves at the crowd of staring Pokemon and trainers. "Uh, hi guys." Sara says nervously, aware that her friends and Star were also looking at her funny, "S-silly Vibrava… huh?"

The group gave Sara fierce stares. Sara didn't have long to wait for help though, because Nurse Joy came bursting out of the recovery room the next moment and started exclaiming heatedly, "Look at all of you! Awake at three in the morning! You all should be ashamed, ashamed I say!"

As Nurse Joy continued to rant, Sara, Drake, and Elvina tiptoed past her and the group of people and Pokemon and out into the early morning air. Star sat lazily on Sara's shoulder, puffing herself up a bit against the cold breeze.

"A little fun in the morning, huh?" Drake says sarcastically, taking a few steps away from the Pokemon Center, in which they still could hear Nurse Joy ranting along.

"_Wake me up in four hours." _Star grumbles, _"Good night."_

As Star began to snore, they began to trek through Inferno Town, covering up yawns every once and a while as the marveled at the view of the town. There was the Gym in the far left corner, with an interesting poem engraved on its doors. Clearly, it read:

"_Those trainers that wish to find,_

_A normal Gym where they can fight,_

_Shall be mistaken to hear,_

_That this one shall test what some fear._

_The process of thought,_

_Shall be your guide._

_So come forth,_

_Scholars of the Pokemon World._

_Test your wits,_

_Against the King and Queen of the Riddles."_

"'King and Queen of the Riddles'?" Drake repeats, staring at first the poem, then at Sara, who shrugged.

"It appears they like words more then battling. Oh well, we'll live, won't we?" She says, patting the still snoring Star lightly.

Elvina tried the door, "It's locked." She says after grappling with the handle for a good long while. "Looks like we've got some time to look at what's new here." With that, Elvina turned and gazed north, where three tall mountains stood, the Black Ice Peaks, which they'd have to climb to get to the next town. They were a good walk away, but at about ten miles away, they still looked massive. Heavily packed snow and ice covered the peaks; those being part of the reason the Inferno Town area gets little to no rain. The Fire Plains stretched from the north end of Inferno Town out of sight. Thin, golden blades of grass and weeds covered the plain.

Sara let out Sandsinger again, all ready to chew her out for the scene she caused in the Pokemon Center. But as the Vibrava came bursting out and jumped into Sara's arms, disturbing Star who squawked, Sara forgot about her anger and patted the chattering Pokemon.

"_Yay! Now-I-can-show-you-everything-about-this-place!" _She exclaims quickly, and buzzed to the ground, not being able to keep herself aloft, and scurried away.

Sara followed her, Elvina and Drake nervously flanking her. Many of the townsfolk had been woken up by the energetic Sandsinger; some poked their heads out their windows and yelled after the trainers. The Vibrava didn't care though; she kept going until she had led them back to the Pokemon Center, then past it. She only stopped when she reached the Pokemart, where she was looking up at a colorful poster with what appeared to be a dancing Bellossom on it.

"_They have this competition twice a year." _Sandsinger informed them, her green eyes still glued to the poster, which read in bold letters: **Pokemon Dancing Festival, keep to the beat!**

Elvina chuckles, "But Sandsinger, Vibrava don't dance." She says, but her grin vanishes after she sees the pained look in Sandsinger's eyes.

"We can join in! The festival is tomorrow." Drake mumbles, casting a warning look at Elvina.

"_Ooooohhh! Sara, can we go? Please Sara, please?" _The Vibrava exclaims, her wide eyes turning to Sara, who nods after a while. _"Yaaayyyy!"_

Sandsinger was in a great mood as they returned to the Pokemon Center and entered it for an early breakfast. Some cast them angry looks, but none commented about the bouncing Vibrava at Sara's side.

After breakfast, Sara called her mother again, and began by introducing her to Elvina. She was overjoyed that Sara was making 'little' friends, even if she didn't quite approve of Elvina's hair color.

Next, Sara moved on to Sandsinger, who was quite excited to meet Sara's mom. _"HI!" _She exclaims when Sara's mother first saw her and gasps.

"My goodness! The Pokemon you can find… she's cute Sara." Sara's mom then demanded to see Star, who still didn't want to be disturbed.

"_Oh no! No, no, no! I'm not going to stand for-" Too_ late, for she had been pushed in front of Sara's mom, who let out an 'awww'. Star stood for a bit of the attention before retreating. Soon afterwards, Sara's mother had to leave to stop her oatmeal from burning.

"I feel a little sorry for you." Elvina mutters to Star, "You were right, she's scary."

"My mom's not that scary!" Sara retorts, glaring at the two of them, Star had retreated to Elvina's wrist.

"_Yes, she is." _Star says loudly, puffing herself up. _"I want to go to the Gym now."_

"_Yeah, yeah, yeah! Let's go to the Gym, let's go!" _Sandsinger exclaims, and began to bounce out the door. Dorovi, who was still cross about not being told about the new Pokemon until he saw her himself, stormed after her. Picking Vulpix up, Sara followed, letting Star settle again on her shoulder.

Two guards were standing next to the Gym's door now; they too looked like replicas of the ones at the other Gyms. After talking with them for a while, Sara and Drake entered with their Pokemon. Elvina couldn't follow; the guards just wouldn't let her.

The pair entered a small room. Two wooden doors marked with either 'King' or 'Queen' were the only things there. Drake entered the 'King' door and Sara the 'Queen' one.

"Greetings." Said a pale, young girl as Sara entered another small room. The polished wooden floors probably had just been waxed, because Sara stumbled and sent Star squawking from her shoulder. The girl just chuckled, and motioned to a tiny wood stool, she was sitting on another.

As Sara took her seat, laying Vulpix in her lap and admitting a very ruffled Star back onto her shoulder, the girl began speaking again. "Are you ready for your test?"

"_Of course she's ready!" _Star, Vulpix, and Sandsinger snap at the same exact moment. Sara, fighting back chuckles, nods once.

"As you probably know, I am Queen of the Riddles, master of the mysteries, enigma of the enigmas. I am, Ellen Riddle." Ellen paused after this for her words to have an effect on Sara. She was looking at Ellen funny, quietly thinking that this might just be harder then she thought it would be.

"Trainer to win the badge in which you seek,

You have two tasks in which to complete.

Two riddles I shall tell,

Two riddles in which you must answer correctly,

Or find,

A battle in their place.

One Pokemon's insight you may have,

The cleverest of the three before us,

Choose well trainer."

Ellen fell silent then. All at once, Star and Sandsinger began to exclaim what great thinkers they are. Vulpix stated her want to be left alone, and returned to her Pokeball. Sara didn't believe Star wanted to help, since a wrong answer would result in a Pokemon battle, Star would probably try to mess her up on purpose.

That ruled both Vulpix and Star, who returned to her Pokeball rather reluctantly, out and left Sandsinger as the Pokemon of choice.

"We're ready." Sara says after Sandsinger had lain out in a comfortable position in her lap. Ellen grins and begins to recite.

"What is old, having lived far longer then us both?

His face, elderly yet smooth as glass,

His featureless face,

With no true talent,

Except telling time.

One more clue,

For you my friend.

Whiskers have grown,

And have grown out,

Two at least,

That aid in his task.

You have two minutes trainer. Use them well."

Sara looked puzzled. But Sandsinger was excited; she was jumping up and down in Sara's lap, causing her to look down. _"Ooh, ooh, ooh! I know it, I know it!"_

"What, what is it then?" Sara asks, hardly believing her luck.

Sandsinger blurts the answer, which Sara repeats slowly, "A grandfather clock."

Ellen nods, and grins happily. "Good trainer, very good. A skilled Pokemon you have there. One more riddle for you to solve, for the glittering Inferno badge."

Her grin widened as she began to recite again.

"Think of something,

Which can be both Pokemon and pest,

Its name, three letters,

Its fangs broad and sharp.

Once you've though of this,

Change its name.

Double one letter,

Go forward five for another.

The result is something,

That is both a name,

And something to stand on.

Your time, the same. Good luck as always trainer."

Sandsinger had stopped jumping, and was hunched over in thought. Sara was as confused as ever, but she listened to her Vibrava mumble thoughtfully. _"Both Pokemon… and pest. Hmm, a… rat… yeah, three letters…" _

She suddenly stopped moving, and turned towards Sara, yelling out her answer excitedly.

"Matt." Was all that Sara said. Ellen looked away, an act of sadness as she pulled out a badge.

"You're good Pokemon, very good." She said as she stands and hands Sara an Inferno badge. The four pointed, copper star had a cheap looking red stone in it. But it appeared to glisten, and was quite pretty.

Sara lets out cry of joy as she jumped to her feet, carrying Sandsinger so she wouldn't fall, and hugs her hard. "That was a stroke of brilliance!" She exclaims, realizing that the Vibrava really was enjoying this. Ellen was still grinning as Sara turned and left.

It didn't take long for Drake to return out of his room, a badge clutched in his right hand, and his left was supporting Horsea as he blew bubbles into the small room. It appeared that his Horsea was quite happy.

They shared a couple of words before returning to the outside world. Elvina met them a couple of feet away from the guards. "That didn't take long." She comments as both the grinning trainers flashed their new badges.

It was just then that Sara realized that they had stayed in the Gym under a half-hour. Flashy battles took longer then solving riddles, then. "Four down, six to go!" She finally exclaims, as they began the trek back to the Pokemon Center.


	9. Festival Attack Part One

**(No rush Dragon Shadow! Thanks a bunch Digital Skitty! And Cave Cat, I'm not going to do that.**

**Chapter nine.)**

"Are you ready Sandsinger?" Asked Sara as they approached the large town square. Here, the steady hum of music blasted everywhere; people were crowded all around, some from Inferno Town but most were not. Sara's Vibrava was already walking in step with a rather quick beat, her wings buzzing softly.

Yesterday, following the riddle challenge that earned her the Inferno badge, Sara realized something very important. Sara's Vulpix doesn't like her. Not one bit. Now she's been going out of her way to make Vulpix happy, but it already wasn't working very well. She wanted to stay in her Pokeball for the Festival, as she is now.

Star, thinking this is just a boring thing humans like to do, was flying circles around the festivities, only landing if Sara flags her down.

"_I'm ready!" _Sandsinger cries enthusiastically as they entered the town square and fought through the mass of people. There were many brightly colored stands around the square, many people massed around them. Sara and Sandsinger approach the first stand in sight, a neon yellow one marked 'Signups'. The trainers here were all scrambling to get to the signup sheet and talk to the harassed-looking attendant.

The two of them watched as a squabble broke out between most of the trainers. As they were punching, kicking, and clawing at each other, Sara approached the stand and looked over the signup sheet. There were actually many contests to signup for, not just the dancing contest, but a tournament, a beauty contest, and a talent show. Many names were already scribbled on the sheet, and there was another one under it that was already filled with names.

Sara flagged Star down, who landed and perched on her forearm. _"Yeah?" _She asks in a puzzled tone.

"See this?" Sara starts, tapping the slot that read: 'tournament' and grinning. "One Pokemon allowed. Wanna join in?"

Star was overjoyed by the idea. She cheeped happily as Sara wrote on the paper, 'Sara Wellington. Pokemon: Star the Swellow.'

The trainers started to mutter angrily behind Sara after she'd signed Sandsinger up for the dancing contest and asked her Pokemon what they though Vulpix would like to be in. Beauty contest, two votes unanimously got her put down on that list. She then waltzed off to another stand and looked around.

"Hey Sara!" Drake called from another one of the stands, waving franticly at her. He and Elvina both had half-melted strawberry ice cream cones in their hands; Drake was holding a spare one. Sara fought her way over to them through the crowd and snatched up the ice cream.

"Manks." Sara spluttered through a mouthful of ice cream. Star, curious about this phenomenon called ice cream, snuck a beakful from her perch on Sara's shoulder. Sara didn't care though; worse things could happen to her ice cream. She even offered Sandsinger some. (_"No thanks, I like to eat desert flies! You should try them sometime Sara, I'll share!" _Sandsinger exclaims happily.)

Huan was sitting regally on Elvina's arm, licking on her ice cream when she seemed to look away. He looked very content. Dorovi sat across Drake's feet, yawning every once and a while. It appeared he didn't want Drake to move yet.

"So," Sara finally says between licks, "What have you two signed up for?"

"Tournament." Drake responds, also talking between mouthfuls of ice cream, "With Dorovi."

"Well, I'm in for the talent show! I have been preparing a little something to perform…" Elvina mutters, but wouldn't answer any questions about what her performance would be.

Sara finally got an evil grin after she finished her ice cream, "I'm going to beat you in the tournament, Drake!" She exclaims, "I'm going for it with Star, and she's not going to lose this time!" Star, who was relaxed on Sara's shoulder, puffed up proudly.

"Yeah right! You'll stand no chance, like you did last time!" Drake responds with a laugh. Dorovi growled his agreement, but before Sara could say anything back to that, Elvina let out a loud squeal.

"_Are you okay?" _Star asks, eyeing Elvina strangely as she began to jump up and down, screeching in a high voice.

"It's… it's…" Elvina finally splutters.

"_It's what?" _Star snaps, _"Out with it, out with it!"_

"It's, Dominus Flagun!" Cries Elvina as she races over to another stand labeled 'talents'. She rushed over to a man who was lecturing a group of very young girls and boys, who looked very interested in what he had to say. Sara and Drake exchanged wary glances and, shrugging, followed her with Dorovi and Sandsinger on their heels.

"…An Exeggcute can take a lot of damage without breaking its shell. See how our Rhyhorn friend is having troubles?" Dominus was saying as Elvina rushed forward towards him. A pack of Exeggcute were lying in front of the group, a Rhyhorn balanced on the tip of his horn on top of the single unbroken Exeggcute. His voice was surprisingly cold, sending icy daggers of doubt about him through Sara's body. He seems okay though…

Elvina finally reaches him, and exclaims quickly, "Oh Dominus! I'm-your-biggest-fan-may-I-have-your-autograph?" She was standing behind him, and he whirled around quickly to look at her. The look of his eyes sent another chilling wave through Sara, those icy blue depths just didn't seem right, they weren't natural. His hair was long, strait, and very black, framing his otherwise pale face.

"What would you like me to sign?" He asks, his icy drawl making Sara shudder. Surely she wasn't the only one who didn't feel right about this guy? "Certainly not your Eevee?" It was then that Sara noticed Huan was bristling angrily. He must not trust this guy either…

"No, no…" Elvina replies, oblivious to the smirk on Dominus's pale face. She dug into her backpack and whipped out a leaf of paper. "Here, this is it!"

Sara nervously approached Elvina, her stomach turned over as she did. "Elvina." She whispers behind her friend. Elvina ignores her, "Elvina. Elvina!" Finally, she whirls around.

"Wha?" She snaps irritably as Dominus hands the paper back, his long, curly signature in its middle.

"Come on!" Sara growls as she drags Elvina away by her arm, Drake following her.

When they were fully out of hearing range, Sara stopped hauling Elvina and glares at her. "Who is that?" Sara demands, pointing to Dominus.

"Dominus Flagun." Elvina responds simply, looking surprised that someone dare ask a question such as that, but continues after seeing the look on Sara's face. "He's famous around here, you know. A walking Pokedex, a Pokemon Master, you name it, he's it."

"What's wrong with you?" Drake asks, catching the nervous look in Sara's eyes.

"_He isn't right." _Star cheeps, and Huan barks his agreement, surprising Elvina.

"That man isn't." Sara says firmly, her face set in a stubborn look. She explained the feelings he made her have to them, and was really surprised when she looked down at Sandsinger. Standing on her back was, yet again, the miniature Sundav.

"_You look surprised lady." _Sundav comments smoothly, _"You've experienced quite the sensations back there."_

"Tell me about it..." Sara mumbles.

"_Okay. Lady, he's-he's-" _Sundav suddenly went into a fit of coughing squawks. All eyes were on her as she fell off Sandsinger's back and coughed louder.

"Are you alright?" Sara finally asks, bewildered, as Sundav righted herself and looked quite miffed for some reason.

"_I'm fine." _Sundav snaps irritably, _"Just go to- aw, see you later!" _With that, she fades away, leaving them to stare at each other blankly.

"She was trying to tell us something about Dominus." Drake muses. Elvina, who had turned a deep shade of scarlet by now, stormed off without a word.

"_What's wrong with her?" _Star asks, watching Elvina on her perch.

"The same thing that's wrong with Sundav and Vulpix." Drake offers, causing Sara to shrug. Dorovi offered a solution, which Star translated.

"Presents?" Sara repeats, puzzled, "Where are we going to get Elvina a present?"

"_Over there." _Star pointed her left wing at yet another stand, with many iron cages behind it. On closer inspection, they realized that it a Pokemon selling stand, with over a hundred Pokemon to choose from; at least, if you have the money.

"What do you think she'd like?" Sara asks as she peered into cage after cage of different Pokemon. Sandsinger had returned to her Pokeball to get ready for her dancing contest, Sara could feel her Pokeball vibrating just slightly.

"_What about this?" _Star asks, hovering overtop of Sara's head, looking into the tenth cage stacked in one row.

"I've found something!" Drake exclaims, poking his head overtop of a small stack of cages with a wide grin on his face. The stand-keeper, a wizened man that seemed to be missing several front teeth, was standing next to him. There was the click of a cage being opened, and Drake showed Sara a Pokemon that made her exclaim with delight.

"Awww!" Sara cries as she rushes over to hold the Pokemon, Star reluctantly following. Drake had found an adorable little puffball, a fine-haired Skitty. She mewed friendly in Sara's tight grip, purring slightly.

"I would say that if your upset friend wouldn't want her, she probably will." The stand-keeper remarks, showing a toothless smile at Sara.

"She's perfect." Drake and Sara remarked at the same time.

"Great, that will be two thousand Pokedollars please." Came the reply as the stand-keeper held out his hand expectantly. Drake made a choking sound, and dug out a handful of Pokedollars from his pocket.

"Uh, one thousand good?" He asks, unwrinkling the bills. The stand-keeper shakes his head, and Drake shot a begging gaze at Sara.

"Oh, alright!" She growls, pulling out her own money and counting out the majority of it, and gave the stand-keeper exactly the amount needed.

"You owe me." Sara tells Drake as the stand-keeper when to retrieve the Skitty's Pokeball. "One thousand Pokedollars to be exact."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Drake mumbles dismissively, his eyes focused on anything but Sara, "I'll pay you back later."

"_Sara." _Star says, looking quite ignored as she finally settles on her trainer's forearm with ruffled feathers. _"Saaarrrraaaa!" _When Sara finally turned her attention from the Skitty to Star, she continued. _"You might like that Pokemon." _Star nods in the direction of the tenth cage up there.

"But… but… I can't even see it from here." Sara mumbles, squinting up at the designated cage.

"_I'll get it down. Stay here." _Star then flitted away as the stand-keeper showed up again with a normal white and red Pokeball. He presented it to Drake, thanked them for their business, and promptly left to speak to another trainer.

The Skitty entered her Pokeball without complaint, Drake held it while Star arrived again with the iron cage clutched tightly in her talons. It, unlike most of the cages there, was small, for a small Pokemon.

At first, Sara didn't see anything in the cage, so she propped it up and gazed inside. Wide Eevee eyes gazed back, and a gentle mew of a hello came from the cage. "An Eevee." Sara mumbles, scratching the little Pokemon's cheek with one finger through the cage bars.

"Sir! How much is the Eevee!" Sara shouts at the stand-keeper, who had just finished with the other trainer. He rushed over and blinked.

"Er… that one's not for sale really but…"

"But… you'll sell it to me right?"

"Uh, five thousand Pokedollars, no less!" He finally says firmly, causing Sara to blink at him.

"I don't have that much…" She mutters to herself, shooting Drake a glare as he began to whistle innocently. "Can I at least let it out of the cage? See what it looks like?"

It took a while, but Sara and Drake finally got the stand-keeper to open the cage and let the Eevee out of it. "Adorable." Sara says after watching the Eevee stumble out and promptly fall over sideways. The Eevee was a little different then Huan, Elvina's Eevee, the fur that is normally a cream color on most Eevee was a grayish color on this one. She seemed normal though.

"Eev!" She exclaims in a startled tone as Sara gently picked her up and looked her over. "Eveee."

"'_Ello, my name is Karen." _Star translates, rolling her eyes. Sara grins and chuckles.

"I'm Sara. Don't mind her; she's never happy unless she says something cheeky ten times a day."

"_You know." _It was Sundav, she was perched on one of the lower cages, _"Pokemon can have the Touch too!"_ She began to cough as she disappeared again.

"_I think Sundav's lost it." _Star cheeps, looking were the light bird had been.

"If you're not going to buy her, then put her back into her cage." The stand-keeper growls as he snatched Karen away from Sara and shoved her back into her small iron cage.

Ten minutes later, Sara found herself pacing around the stands, wondering what to do next. All the contests were traditionally going to take place in the afternoon, and she had time to prepare. Drake and Dorovi had gone off to practice a bit before the tournament, and Elvina still hadn't shown up.

"_Sit." _Star orders as she leads Sara over to a small bench and pecks her gently until she sits down on it, _"What now?"_

"We… wait?"

"_Think Sara. Who have you not talked to this whole time here? Who has a contest coming up and doesn't even know about it yet?"_

"Oh. You do have a point." Sara mumbles as she fishes Vulpix's Pokeball out and releases her in the empty spot on the bench.

"_I don't want to be here." _Vulpix states bluntly, glaring at Sara.

"_Well you're going to have to be anyway, so why not start early?" _Star snaps, getting Vulpix's glare turned on her.

"_What are you talking about?"_

"You're got a beauty contest to go to." Sara says for Star, who shot her a slightly relieved look. It appeared she didn't want to be the one to spill the beans.

Vulpix just sat there, staring from Sara to Star, then back again. _"Fine." _She finally says, _"What will I have to do?"_

"_Look pretty?" _Star suggests. Sara looked Vulpix over then, her fur wasn't in very good shape… it had many leaves and twigs sticking out at different angles. Specks of dirt covered her back, the only place Vulpix can't reach when she washes herself.

"Be groomed." Sara says firmly as she starts to search her backpack for the right tools for the job. TM five, no… potion, no… Pokeball, no… brush, n-yes! Sara whipped out the brush and grins at the queer look on Vulpix's face.

"_Uh…no." _Vulpix growls, standing and beginning to edge off the bench.

"Come back here." Sara orders, placing a hand on Vulpix's back and pushing her closer. She then took the brush and ran its long bristles through her twiggy, knotted fur, causing Vulpix to howl loudly and get Sara dirty looks from other Pokemon trainers.

It took a long while for Sara to get her groomed, Star was no help since she was more interested in seeing what Sara had packed in her backpack. Boasting a slightly scorched hand, Sara was finally finished with Vulpix. "We really have to do that more often." Sara states, her Pokemon's fur was a mess.

"_Found it." _Came Star's muffled voice from Sara's backpack. Star couldn't quite fit in her backpack though; her two long tail feathers were jutting out from the backpack's mouth.

Star flapped out of the backpack with a small aerosol can in her left talon. She offered it to Sara and puffed up proudly. "Didn't know I had this." Sara mumbles to herself as she reads the label, **Bonnie Barton's Quick Luster Pokemon Fur Shine**.

"'_Course you didn't." _Star responds smugly. Sara was staring at her, _"Because I kinda… well, borrowed it."_

"_That doesn't sound good." _Vulpix states, looking at the can with wide eyes. _"Doesn't mean we can't use it, right? Other trainers are spraying that stuff all over their Pokemon! Look over at him!" _She waves one of her tails at another trainer, who was madly spraying his Persian with the stuff.

"Were did you get this?" Sara asks heatedly, "I could really get in trouble… aw well, come over here Vulpix, let's shine you up. Then Star can give it back." She shot Star a glare as Vulpix settled herself down on her lap.

Sara gave her Pokemon, both Star and Vulpix, a coating of the fur shine before giving it back to Star for her to offer it back to its original owner. It had worked wonders on Vulpix; her fur was silky smooth, and as shiny as a new penny. Star, on the other hand, didn't have fur; her feathers were covered with a goopy white gunk. Sara would really have to clean her up later.

Sara recalled her now pretty Vulpix and followed Star as she went to return the fur shine can. To her surprise, Star led her back to the talents stand and over to were Dominus was teaching yet another class about 'how to treat a Beedrill sting'. Knowing her luck with Beedrill, Sara listened to the lesson as Star put the aerosol can back in a backpack that looked quite familiar; Elvina's backpack.

"_I saw Elvina using it once on Huan." _Star explains as she landed on Sara's forearm, just when Dominus was getting to the 'bandage' stage. _"I need a bath." _She states, ruffling her feathers in an attempt to remove the gunk, with no success.

Sara sighs, "Sorry about that. I thought you could look better then you already did." She says as she walks over to another stand and pays for two bottles of water. They were much more expensive then they should have been, probably because water was already scarce in Inferno Town.

The boom of thunder caused Sara to jump as she settles down on the same bench with Star on her lap. Dark grey, menacing thunderclouds were moving their direction from the Black Ice Peaks at a quick rate. "I didn't think we'd see rain here." Sara mumbles thoughtfully as she soaked Star's feathers with water from the first bottle. The gunk seemed to come off easily in water.

"_They're really dark." _Star mumbles as she lifts her right wing for Sara to clean the feathers under it.

Sara finally shrugs, "I wonder what Elvina is doing…" She had moved on to the left wing by now.

"_Don't ask me, because I don't know!" _

When Star was finally clean again, the first contest was about to begin, the beauty contest. Then would be the talent show, the tournament, and finishing off would be the dancing contest. Sara let Vulpix out again and proceeded to the stand that had a large stage behind it, where all the contest would happen.

Sara suddenly noticed that there was no sign of Elvina yet. Not a glimpse of Dominus either, but she didn't care about that, Sara was actually happy to see no sign of him. Sandsinger came out after a while of waiting, she looked tired out. "Have a good practice?"

"_Yup!" _Sandsinger exclaims happily, _"It was very good!"_

"Sara!" It was Drake, he and Dorovi were racing towards her. Dorovi got there first and said something to Drake in a happy tone. "Right, right, you won the race." Drake mumbles as he rolls his eyes.

"Drake, have you seen Elvina?" Sara asks franticly, hoping that at least he would have seen her.

Her hopes were lost when Drake shook his head. "Nope. But she'll be here for the contests, right?"

"Uh…" Sara didn't have an answer to that. Yes, she hoped the answer would be yes.

"_Oohhh! What's this?" _Sara's musings were interrupted by Sandsinger, who had found a small candy in a blue wrapper. There were three others sitting around it.

"_Candy." _Star mumbles, looking disgruntled as Sandsinger opened the first one and devoured its contents. The candy was quite munchy, Sandsinger had to crunch on it a long while before swallowing.

"_It's good…" _Sandsinger mumbles as she starts opening the next one. But before she could, before anyone could react, the crowd around them became chaotic; screaming broke out as they tried to scatter.

The source of the chaos was soon identified by Sara though; a back of different red-eyed Pokemon was swarming the crowd and attacking anything within reach. Exchanging startled looks, Sara and Drake rushed over to work on the Pokemon. But it was no use; there were maybe thousands of the red-eyed Pokemon, and only one Sara. After getting her arm nearly slashed off by a rampaging red-eyed Vigoroth, Sara decided she needed help.

She blew on the whistle, which gave a horrible shriek before falling silent. It was enough for Sara to panic, her Pokemon were no use, Star was drawling all the red-eyed Pokemon that could fly away from her, and Sandsinger… was still eating. Vulpix? Where is Vulpix?

As she shattered the band around an angry Persian, Sara looked around for her Vulpix. The red-eyed Pokemon were everywhere, most of the crowd was still boxed in, but the trainers had begun to fight back against the crazed Pokemon. And then Sara saw her close by, Vulpix was looking remarkably like a shiny, round fur ball as she cowered away from an attacking Pokemon, a red-eyed Skarmory.

The Skarmory dove then, sharp talons aimed straight for Vulpix… "VULPIX!" Sara screeched as she unthinkingly placed herself as a barrier between the Skarmory and her Pokemon. Skarmory didn't stop though, the steel bird kept on going, his talons slashing deeply into Sara's backpack and scratching her back lightly.

"Come on Vulpix." Sara mumbles as she hears the sickening shredding sound that was her backpack and shirt being ripped. Vulpix's wide eyes were watering as she threw herself at Sara's chest and cried.

Sara quickly dumped her shredded backpack on the ground and turned to face the Skarmory, which was about to dive again. "Flamethrower." She orders, holding Vulpix at arm's length and pointing her head at the steel bird. Vulpix lets out a torrent of flames out and hits Skarmory directly on his chest.

Skarmory was instantly knocked out of the sky, where Sara shattered the band on his leg and retreated back to help with the other red-eyed Pokemon. The red-eyed Pokemon were defiantly winning right now, they outnumbered maybe four to one at the moment. Star was having a hard time staying aloft, she was having a whole flock of Pokemon attacking her, even if she could avoid them at first, she was weakening a lot now.

And Sandsinger was still chewing… Sara got thinking as she broke another couple of bands. _Sundav couldn't help me… but what if she did? 'You know, Pokemon can have the Touch too.' …Could she have been hinting that Karen could help? _That was it that had to be it! Sundav couldn't tell her outright, so she hinted about it!

"Star!" Sara yells up at the bird, who shakes off her pursuers, they began to follow another trainer's Pidgeotto, and flaps down to her.

"_Yeah?" _Star asks between short gasps of breath. She was panting badly, and drooping a bit on Sara's forearm.

Sara bit her lip. What she was about to ask of Star would take a lot of energy, a lot of energy that she didn't have anymore. But she was saved from saying anything for a little bit as another massive rumble from the thunderclouds got her attention. Sara was forced to recall Vulpix, as it started to rain hard. In the midst of all the fighting, Sara hadn't noticed that the thunderstorm had blocked out the sun, making it quite dark.

"Can you fly me to Karen?" Sara suddenly asks quickly.

Star gave a start, _"W-what!"_

At that very moment, a blinding flash can from behind Sara's back. Star had turned and was staring at a point behind her. That flash had to be evolutionary light, some Pokemon had evolved. But as Star muttered the name of who, Sara spun around. Sandsinger had finished eating her candies, and was standing in the same place, looking slightly dazed. She soon found that her wings were larger, that she could stand on two legs, and that she had claws. It was her that evolved, she was a Flygon.

"Whoa." Sara managed to say as Sandsinger spotted her and rushed over.

"_What was that?" _She asks, looking quite dazed. Her voice had deepened, and lost most of its shrill edge. Sandsinger gave a surprised cry as Sara climbed onto her back and recalled Star.

"Go." Sara orders, gently kicking her Pokemon's side. The dragon turned her head to look at her trainer, saw the determination burning in her eyes, and understood. In moments, they were aloft, Sandsinger's large Flygon wings propelling them upward effortlessly.

Sara guided her Pokemon to the caged Pokemon area with her legs; Sandsinger could turn at the slightest degree and already knew what pressure on her left and right flanks meant. They arrived there in time to see that most of the cages were opened, their occupants, gone. A twinge of doubt struck Sara as she walked by more and more empty cages, and saw that Karen's cage was also empty.

But unlike the rest of the formerly caged Pokemon, Karen was still there, whimpering slightly behind a nearby bench. She mews happily at sight of Sara and Sandsinger, and bounded over to them.

"_She's happy to see us." _Sandsinger murmurs, gazing curiously at Karen.

"Karen." Sara says, giving the Eevee a pleading look, "Karen, we really need your help. You see all those Pokemon with red eyes over there? All of them are wearing black bands. I really think that you're special, in that you can break those bands."

"_Continue." _Her Flygon translates when Karen gave a startled-sounding cry.

"All you need to do is touch them. Sandsinger," Sara turned to her, "Take Karen over there, fly as fast as you possibly can. I'm going to get back there too, soon. There's just one little think for me to take care of…" She trailed off into silence as Sandsinger crouched for Karen, who jumped onto her back. Sandsinger waves awkwardly before taking flight, heading back to the battlefield.

Sara found herself running, ignoring the hot pain in her back, towards the talents stand. There were voices coming from nearby, Sara crouched behind the stand and watched…

Elvina had her hands and feet bound in ropes, her eyes narrowed at a figure standing ten feet from her. A strange chill came over Sara as she watched an Eevee, red-eyed, approach Elvina. But that was no ordinary Eevee, that was… Huan.

"Huan! Stop this madness, don't listen to him!" Elvina cries, struggling with her ropes as Huan came ever closer to her.

"Don't be silly girl, he won't listen to you." Sara shudders violently. That was Dominus's voice!


	10. Festival Attack Part Two

**(I'm sooo sorry that this is so late. I've been doing many things, including writing this chapter over and over again, trying to get it right. This is the best that I could come up with, it probably isn't really a wonderful chapter, but… Well, I'll let you decide that for yourself: Chapter 10.)**

Sara gasps, her mouth hanging open as she watches Huan tackle Elvina in her chest. She didn't even notice the sopping wet Growlithe drag himself until he was next to her. Blaze watches Sara watch Elvina, Huan, and Dominus for a couple of minutes until he rubs his equally soaked nose across her forearm.

She jumps, and knocks into the stand, which topples over as she realizes it's just Blaze. He looked horrible though, like he'd been attacked by many at once. But Sara had no time to tend to him, for at that second Dominus's icy drawl was aimed at her. "So, Sundav's brat has finally shown up. I was wondering how long it would take."

Blaze was growling now, his hackles raised, as a dark shadow suddenly loomed over Sara. She felt a surge of pain as she whipped around to face Dominus. "You're horrible." She managed to spit into the emotionless face of the man.

He just laughed loudly at her reaction and snapped his fingers. Huan came running to his side and barked, not unlike the loving bark that he aimed at Elvina all the time. "You look surprised." Dominus states as he examines Sara, as if looking for weaknesses. "You didn't know that I'm the real Lord?"

It seemed like Blaze had had enough, he charged at Dominus, spouting flames that were put out by the pouring rain. The rest happened in a split-second, Huan realized Blaze's plans, jumped, and landed square on the Growlithe's back. Blaze let out a roaring cry of pain and knocked Huan off of his back, sending the Eevee flying strait into Sara's arms.

Sara just stared at him for a good while, Huan looking dazed as he lay motionless. The look of the pulsing, black band around Huan's neck finally woke her up out of her own dazedness and she quickly laid a hand on it, the band shattering into dust under her fingers. The Eevee regained his normal eye color in a matter of seconds, and looked around as if seeing rain for the first time.

"Go Huan!" Sara exclaims, tossing him onto the ground in Elvina's direction, "Go help Elvina!" Huan looked at her for a second like she's nuts before running to Elvina and beginning the task of chewing off her ropes.

"So, think you're clever, do you?" Dominus asks airily, as if he didn't care at all about what had happened just then. "You just need to learn you lesson, the hard way…"

Dominus gained an evil grin as he raised his left hand, showing Sara the back of it. _"May darkness banish the light." _These words came from his mouth, but in a voice that made Sara shiver. It wasn't natural, it couldn't be… He began to change, growing thick, raven black fur all across his body. Sharp silver nails grew to a scary size on both his hands, and from the look of Dominus's shoes, his nail were growing as well.

After a moment of stunned silence, only broken by the sound of Huan chewing rope and the sounds of ripping clothes, Dominus's grotesque transformation was completed. His shirt had been torn to shreds, but his jeans remained intact. Dark red, pupiless eyes had been fixed on Sara, who suddenly returned to Earth and screamed at the top of her lungs before turning tail and fleeing.

Rasping laughter and the pounding sound of heavy footsteps followed, as was mocking expressions. _"Sara…" _His voice sounded cruel and merciless, _"Come on little brat, you can't run forever… Stop now and I won't make it painful…"_

But she had no intention of stopping, not when a man turned creature was after her for some reason... Sara took her whistle and blew on it again, hoping beyond hope that Sundav would answer her this time. _Help, help, help! _She yelled inside herself to mid-air, and the whistle answered with a sharp, mysterious melody.

Dominus's footsteps suddenly stopped. Sara stopped as well, panting and looking at the still raging battle ahead of them, but seeing that the red-eyed Pokemon had been reduced to about fifty. It was a relief to know that at least Karen was doing something right…

She turned to face Dominus then, who was just standing there, staring up at a point about her head. There was a massive, blaring screech from high above, and the rain stopped abruptly. Sara followed the point to where he was looking and saw what would look like Sundav, in color.

Sundav had landed a couple yards away now, and was emitting a mysteriously smooth and eerie song, one that visibly had an effect on all around her. Sunlight blazed from in-between breaking up clouds, and the fighting Pokemon seemed to be fighting with more fervor.

"_Stop! Make-it…" _Dominus was roaring before a patch of sunlight hit him square in the chest, and he melted into nothing without finishing his rant. As if the clouds, the rain, were never there, the sun showed its massive disk again in a flare of bright light.

Sundav continued to sing though, the notes carrying over to the battlefield once again, which was silent now. Thousands of pairs of eyes were locked onto Sundav's form, not one of them red or malevolent. She finally finished with a burst of light from her form, which felt calmly refreshing and restoring to all.

"_Lady." _The bird's speech focused on her, she looked to be standing at her full height of over twelve feet. She still looked to be made entirely of light, but colorful light now, shining in all the colors of the rainbow. There was a pause in which Sundav bowed her colorful head to Sara and gave a beaked grin. _"Good, very good." _She seemed to be talking to herself as she disappears in yet another flash of colorful light.

"Sara!" Cried two voices at once, Drake was rushing over to her from the battle site and Elvina from the talent's stand. Elvina, who looked quite worse for wear, got to Sara first and flung her arms around the smaller girl. Blaze and Huan yipped happily, both standing off to the side.

"Excuse me." Drake started, prying them apart, "But it's my turn." And with that, he embraced Sara for a little longer then he should have. Sandsinger came over while he was doing so, her dragon-like head cocked to one side.

"_Humans are funny things." _She states as she folds her wings and pokes Drake on his back. While she was interrogating Drake about the funny things humans do (Drake hadn't a clue to what she was saying.), Sara let out Star and Vulpix again.

Star chirrups impatiently and flaps weakly up to Sara's forearm. The tired Swellow demanded full attention from her, but Sara wasn't paying much attention to that and picked up Vulpix and petted her instead. It appeared that she had earned her trust, because Vulpix started to lick her fingers as they passed by her head.

"Uh-huh." Drake mumbles as Sandsinger finishes her speech of why: _'Humans should act more civilized. Why live in a brick house when you can just dig a nice hole?'_

"Ahhh!" Elvina suddenly exclaims, checking the time on her tattered wrist-watch. "We've missed everything! The festival should have ended an hour ago!"

The sun had set by now, leaving everything in a dark shadow. Elvina made whimpering sounds as a man, probably the person who would have done all the announcements, came across the now ruined stage and boomed, "There will be no contests! I repeat, there will be no contests! Anyone who has injured Pokemon should go to the Pokemon Center immediately!"

While he was making his way off the stage, jumping over huge gaps in the wood that were still dripping wetly, most of the crowd headed away, off to the Pokemon Center.

The rest of the night passed as one big burr, all of it uneventful to say the least. The trio headed back to the Pokemon Center after a while, to find it overflowing already. Most of the trainers there weren't from Inferno Town at all, and they would all be staying at the Pokemon Center overnight. They all settled in the small spaces provided, elbowing in attempts of getting more room, and failing completely.

Sleep overtook Sara two seconds after she lay her head down on her small pillow, her dreams were very strange and distorted. It was a battle with many Pokemon of legends, ones that she'd never see before, but Sara was in the middle of it all, ordering a large, rainbow bird to use Ancientpower on another, more massive creature…


	11. Twin Power

The next day, Sara found herself clinging to Star like her life depended on it. Star wasn't happy; she didn't fly very well at all with a free-loader on her back. Sandsinger hummed ahead of them, she was actually able to support the weight of Drake and Elvina on her back.

"_How much farther?" _Star croaked as she flaps hard to stay aloft.

The Fire Plains stretched out below them, leading up to the ever tall Black Ice Peaks. They'd already covered over eight miles in this way, it was far quicker the walking. Elvina heard what Star had asked, so she turned around, grasped Drake's shoulders, and bellowed back at her. "Not much farther! Hold on Star!"

"_Hold on Star…" _She repeated, fuming. _"Ow, ow, ow! Those are my feathers…" _Sara had grasped a fistful of Star's chest feathers in her want not to fall off.

"Sorry." Sara mumbled, fingering a feather she had taken off. "You have nice feathers." Star clicked her beak at that.

Twenty minutes and two miles later, they had set down a little ways up the Black Ice Peaks and Star had gotten the rest she duly deserved. _"What's the matter with you?" _Sandsinger chirped at Star when she had collapsed on Sara's shoulder with her wings hanging limply by her sides.

"_You try flying with… oh wait, you did. Never mind then." _Star grumbled. The wind had picked up now; it howled all around as the trio set off up the mountain path, which had been crudely carved out of the middle mountain. The path was steep, but level enough that they didn't need to use climbing gear.

The first half of the climb went very well, even though Drake had accidentally stepped on a Geodude once and got himself clobbered. It started to snow, to Sandsinger's upset pleas, Sara had to return her. Flygon don't like snow very much.

The snow soon turned into a blizzard, as none of them could see anything; they brought out Blaze and Vulpix. Vulpix nearly set Sara's heavy wool coat on fire in her want to help.

With the fire types leading, they all ascended the rest of the mountain without much of a problem. At the peak of the Black Ice Peaks, there was a coating of what was black ice. It began to crack after moments of being stood on, making them have to race to get to the other side. Twinkling lights had come into view on the other side of the mountain. Cobalt Strip had come into focus, as it was build into the side of the mountain.

They descended the narrow path into Cobalt Strip, where they rushed first into the Pokemon Center. Nurse Joy, who looked exactly the same as the other Joys they'd come across, was busy with a pair of arguing boys, both tall and heavily freckled. At one look, Drake attempted to drag Sara and Elvina back, to no avail.

"What's wrong?" Sara asks as she catches sight of the panicked look on Drake's face.

"Let's go, let's go!" Was all Drake said as he kept on pulling Sara away, Elvina had broken away from him and walked up to the two boys. They kept on arguing, not noticing her at all.

"…I'm telling you, he'd probably have a Saldreth by now!" One of them, the one with long red hair had exclaimed.

"Why? Just because he's got some big-shot trainer for his partner doesn't mean he'll be powerful!" The other boy, with short mousy brown hair responded.

Elvina cleared her throat and Drake cowered behind Sara, whispering, "Don't notice me, don't notice me…" But Sara was too small; the two arguing boys turned and saw Drake anyway.

"Hey look, it's ickle Drakie!" They had both grabbed him, and Drake was standing in the middle of the two taller boys, looking quite gun-shy.

"Not in front of my friends." He had whispered to them.

"Oh-ho! Drakie's got friends!" The red haired boy exclaims, walking up to Elvina and grinning. "Do you, by any chance, have a sister?"

"Huh, no." She growls in reply. Star tweets on Sara's shoulder in her want to have attention as well. But she was ignored.

"Drakie, how about you introduce us to your little friends?" The other boy asks with a less then friendly nudge.

"Right." Drake grumbles, scooting away. "This is Will…iam." He points to the red haired boy, who waves at Elvina. "And this is Hunter." The other boy grins as he points to him.

"They're my twin older brothers, but don't let that get to their heads."

"I see… the family resemblance." Elvina stammers out as she looks Will over, "But what about their hair?"

"Hair dye." Will responds, "I had to be different."

"So, _little_ brother, do you have a Saldreth yet?" Hunter asks with a slightly evil grin on his face.

"No."

"Ha! I told you!" Hunter exclaims at Will, who snorts and looks away.

"You have nice brothers." Sara whispers sarcastically to Drake as Hunter and Will begin to yell at each other about Saldreths.

"I know, wonderful, aren't they?" Drake responds, voice dripping with sarcasm. Elvina had begun to edge out of the Pokemon Center, which looked like a good idea, so Sara follows with Drake at her side.

Once they were out of range, Sara turned to Drake and asked, "What's a Saldreth?"

"The evolved form of Dorovi." Both Drake and Elvina said at the same time.

"They've been saying that I'm either going to fail with flying colors at being a trainer, or become something the Drencos family can be proud of." Drake continues.

"It appears the lateral is what you're headed for." Elvina replies quietly.

"Right. Now come on Drake, let's go win the next badge, and maybe they'll be gone by the time we get back to the Pokemon Center." Sara says, and it was her turn to grab Drake's arm and pull him away.

The Cobalt Gym wasn't hard to find, even if the falling snow did obscure their sight a bit. It was, as it normally is, the tallest building in the area. It was a normal Gym, with a loud and large crowd sitting on benches to watch the battles. Elvina joined the crowd on the bench closest to the battlefield.

It was a two on two battle between the Gym leaders, who used only ice types, and Drake and Sara. Vulpix had burned through three Pokemon already, with only one Pokemon left on the Gym leaders' side when Will and Hunter arrived.

"Don't tell me you started without us!" Will exclaims as he whacks Drake heartily on the back.

"Uh, will the two newcomers please step away from the challengers?" The man with the microphone said. Will and Hunter exchanged looks before going to sit on either side of Elvina, who looked quite uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"Vulpix, don't mind them! Use Flamethrower!" Sara growls to her Pokemon, who shoots a torrent of flames at the last standing enemy Pokemon, a Glalie. He lets out a shriek, but stays in the battle with many scorch marks.

Upon orders, the Glalie used crunch on Dorovi, who was already injured. The attack nearly knocked him out, causing Will and Hunter to gasp in excitement, but he stayed in and slashed at the Glalie with Crush Claw. The battle was over then; to upset boos from Drake's twin older brothers.

They got their Cobalt badges and literally ran away from the twins, Elvina in the lead. Vulpix had chosen to balance on Sara's free shoulder, as Star almost always did. This time they got to the Pokemon Center first, just as Nurse Joy was closing it down for the night.

Drake, Sara, and Elvina all made funny faces at Will and Hunter as they were too late and the doors had been safely shut and locked.

"My brothers are real pains." Drake growls as he hands over his Pokeballs last. "They'll never leave me alone. My mum says they do it because they're jealous."

"Why would they be jealous of you?" Elvina asks as she fluffs her pillow.

"Because I'm a Pokemon trainer and they're not."

"Why aren't they? It's really fun…" Sara had gotten into her sleeping bag and was gazing up at the ceiling.

"I dunno. It was their choice, and they decided not to be trainers." Drake responds with a yawn. "Good night."

"'Night."

"'Till tomorrow then." Elvina mumbles, "Good night."


	12. Mellow Yellow Swellow

**(Digidog, yeah, I guess that would make sense. :P**

**Thanks for your reviews Moonyasha and Digital Skitty!)**

**Chapter 12**

The next morning, Will and Hunter had gotten in when the doors to the Pokemon Center opened for an early crowd. They had pestered Drake all through breakfast about his 'big victory' against the Cobalt Gym leaders. It had come to a point that Drake was starting to turn crimson in the face and he had begun to speak in a more shrill voice.

The snowstorm from yesterday had passed by the time the five of them left the Pokemon Center, leaving Cobalt Strip looking like a scene from one of those Christmas cards. Star had chosen to stay out of her Pokeball, unlike the rest of the trio's Pokemon. Vulpix would have, but she was too annoyed by the Drencos twins to bother.

Today seemed like a normal day until Will pointed at the sky and began to snort with laughter. "I never thought I'd see the day! Ga, look Hunter, a flying fur ball!" Sara immediately looked up to see that he was right; it _was_ a flying fur ball.

"_Idiots." _Star chirps scornfully, _"That's not even close."_

The so called 'flying fur ball' had come close enough for them to distinguish two different forms, a bird that was doing the flying, and a furry creature that was hanging on for its life.

"It can't be." Sara mumbles, looking at the furry creature with her mouth hanging slightly open, "That can't possibly be her."

The bird had landed, and was very queer looking indeed, not counting the coating of icy snow on his feathers. He was a Swellow, one with slightly different colorings. The red on a Swellow's head, chest, and tail feather tips were instead a shockingly yellow color. Sara felt Star bristle on her shoulder as the male Swellow hopped a little closer to her.

But what was riding on the male Swellow's back was what got Sara's attention the most. It was Karen, shivering from head to foot, and, like the Swellow, had gotten a coating of snow. She looked proud of herself though, and a Pokeball was lodged firmly in her mouth.

"Karen!" Sara exclaimed, plucking the Eevee off of the Swellow's back and holding the cold bundle close to her chest. "What did you do? Fly all the way here?" Karen shivered against her and nodded weakly.

"_Crazy! Crazy, crazy, crazy!" _Star sang from her perch as she slides down Sara's arm and covered Karen with one of her wings. The male Swellow, who was much larger then Star, crooned once to Star before passing out on the snowy ground.

"We've got to get them to the Pokemon Center!" Drake exclaims as he picks up the Swellow and darts off in the opposite direction. Elvina and Sara were not far behind.

"Hey!" Hunter called after them. "What about us?"

They ignored him and slammed back into the Pokemon Center. "Nurse… Joy, they need… help!" Sara pants as she holds Karen out to the Nurse. She looked taken aback, as did the two Chansey that she had been conversing with. Right before she took Karen, the Eevee spat out the Pokeball in her mouth in Sara's palm.

The Swellow and Karen went into intensive care immediately. Sara had sat down and was looking the Pokeball that Karen had taken with her. It had teeth marks in it, but was still intact. "I wonder if this is Karen's Pokeball." Sara mused aloud. Elvina grunts and Drake hit himself on his forehead.

"I completely forgot!" He exclaims, digging in his pocket and taking out a certain Pokeball. He winks at Sara before handing it to Elvina, "This is for you. A sort of gift from the two of us. And I don't owe Sara a penny."

"What!" Sara squawks.

"_Well, since he didn't take complete credit for it…" _Star began.

"And now you're going to side with Drake." She huffs as Elvina tosses the Pokeball.

"Skitty!" The pink kitten exclaims as she looked around, taking in her surroundings. Elvina smiles widely and whistles gently to get her attention. Skitty whirled around, saw Elvina, and pounced into her lap just as Will and Hunter sulked into the Pokemon Center.

"So adorable!" Elvina coos loudly, just so the twins could hear her, "Thanks Sara, thanks _Drake_!" They, like Elvina must have thought they would, flinched visibly and fled from the Pokemon Center.

"Nice." Drake says happily, "That was the best Will-and-Hunter repelling trick yet!"

"That wasn't a-" Elvina states, but her words were drowned out by loud singing coming from the intensive care rooms. The male Swellow had appeared at the window, his feathers puffed up as he sang to his audience, which didn't seem to include Star. She huffs and flaps over to perch on Elvina's wrist, offering her wing feathers for Skitty to play with.

"I think that Swellow likes you Star." Sara states matter-of-factly as the Swellow flapped over to a window that was closer to her and sang louder. "And I also think he's done healing up."

"_No kidding." _Star grumbles as Skitty accidentally pulled out one of her inner wing feathers.

He was done healing after all, because a second later, the Swellow was perched on Elvina's shoulder, trying to get closer to Star. "Gah!" Elvina exclaims as she gets Swellow feathers in her face.

She didn't have long to suffer though, because Star and the male Swellow began to play a form of air tag. The Swellow was 'It' and Star had a time avoiding him. "Looks like they're having fun." Drake remarks, watching the two with interest. Elvina had let out Huan now, and he was rolling on the ground with Skitty in a play fight.

"_I am NOT having fun!" _Star retorts as the other Swellow grabbed her left wings with both of his talons and dragged her back down to the ground. Star got to sit on Sara's lap as he settled a little bit away and began to chirp deeply at her.

"Is that what Star always sounds like?" Sara asks, since she hadn't heard her Swellow chirp since the first day they met. Drake nods, being the only one who didn't understand Star's speech.

"That's interesting." Elvina remarks after he was done, "This Swellow's name is Mellow. Interesting huh? Mellow the yellow Swellow."

Drake snorts with laughter, "Who named him that!"

"_He named himself that!" _Star snaps.

Huan and Skitty had stopped their game to look up and see what had caused Star to go off, again. They shared a conversation, which was probably about Star.

Mellow tweets at Star again, and she bristles. _"Then go back to where you belong! The wild!" _

Karen mews loudly from Sara's feet. It appeared that she had just gotten out, and was purring gently. She said something to Sara and jumped to the side, since Star still occupied Sara's lap. _"She says that was her Pokeball." _Star translates dully, _"She wants to be your Pokemon. Like me." _

Sara looked down at the marked Pokeball in the palm of her hand, then at Karen, and smiled. Karen returned to her Pokeball with a happy mew and Sara put the Pokemon Translator around her Pokeball then. As her backpack had been destroyed, Sara had to carry most of her stuff in her pockets, Drake and Elvina hefting the rest around. She would have to get a new backpack soon…

After the gizmo had stopped hissing, Sara released Karen again and watched her yawn and curl up next to her new trainer. _"Nighty Sara." _She mews sleepily, but before she could fall asleep, Star demanded answers from her.

"_Mellow said he would only take me here if I had something to offer him in return. So I told him about you, Star, and he gladly accepted. So I took Mellow with me through a big snowstorm. We got frozen, but survived and found you guys. Can I go to sleep now?"_

"Yes, go ahead." Sara says quickly, before Star could squawk anything else out. The Eevee fell asleep as Sara repeated what she had said to Drake, and he grinned at Mellow.

"Fancy a battle?" Drake asks with a glint in his eye as he lets Dorovi out. Mellow chirps defiantly as they all headed out the door, since they couldn't battle in the Pokemon Center.

Mellow was good, but not as good as Star, and defiantly no match for Dorovi. He was knocked out with a final Water Gun. Star cheers for their victory before Drake drew out a Pokeball, she chirped angrily then. But Drake threw the Pokeball at the Mellow anyway, capturing the Swellow in a flash of light. The Pokeball rocked once, twice, and fell silent.

"Ha ha!" Drake exclaims, pointing at Sara with a triumphant shine in his eyes. "You're not the only one with a Swellow!"

"_Well he doesn't have a good one." _Star snaps with ruffled feathers.

Drake bragged about his catch all through lunch, and then dinner. He promised Star that he wouldn't let him out though, today, and kept that promise through the rest of the night. But as they all were settling down to fall asleep, Drake flicked the Pokeball in Star's direction and pretended to be asleep.

Star didn't sleep well that night at all.


	13. Losing Battle

**(Thanks to everyone who has given me a review! They really do help me.)**

**Chapter 13**

"It makes no sense! We can't stop in Twilight Town, there's no gym there!" Drake says loudly after they reached the bottom of the Black Ice Peak that Cobalt Strip was on. They were still heading north, Twilight Town being the highest town in the region.

"It makes perfect sense!" Elvina snaps in reply. Sara sighs from her position two feet behind her arguing friends, Star perching on her wrist, having moved there after Mellow settled on Sara's left shoulder. Star gave up her right shoulder perch when he started attempting to groom her wing feathers.

"Does not."

"Yes it does."

"Give me a good reason why we should stop in Twilight Town, with the next Gym is in the west."

"Because," Elvina sighs, as if she had told Drake this ten times already, "Drake, they have a mall."

"A mall! You won't catch me in a mall ever! No, no-no-no! We are not going to a mall!"

Mellow chirps dramatically from Sara's shoulder, causing Star to twitter angrily at him. _"I bet you don't even know what a mall is." _Star snaps irritably.

"No Drake, don't you understand? A m-a-l-l." Elvina continues, but Drake just looked at her strangely, "Isn't your backpack heavy?"

"Yeah, my backpack is really heavy." Drake mumbles, obviously not understanding the change in subject.

"Why is your backpack heavy Drake, hmmm?"

"Because Sara busted hers, but-"

"Exactly! You answered your own question Drake!" Elvina says triumphantly.

Drake fumed after that, not saying anything for a long while. Sara kept walking behind him and Elvina, carrying on a conversation with Vulpix and Star.

"_That wasn't bright." _Vulpix comments after Star finishes the tale of: How Star avoided Mellow all night. She'd woken up Sara by end of the story, crashing painfully into her.

"It hurt." Sara replies, "And it was two in the morning. You broke Sandsinger's record Star…"

"_At least I did something. Huh, I didn't get to sleep at all." _Star grumbles, shooting Mellow a glare, _"Hear that, I don't like you!"_

"_You'll like me yet." _Vulpix translated after she rolled her eyes at what Mellow had said. _"Really Mellow, you should choose better pick-up lines."_

Sara laughs at the annoyed chirp the Swellow replied with before he nipped her hard on her ear. "Off!" She nearly yells, shaking Mellow off her ear and clutching it.

"_Dimwit." _Star yells after Mellow as he flaps, rejected, over to Drake. _"I ought to go over there and…"_

"_Don't attack him Star. That wouldn't be right, and you'll have to live with him afterward." _Vulpix says loudly as Star takes flight and heads in Mellow's direction.

"Psst." A voice came from a bush as Sara passed it. She stops and looks around, "Psst." It said again, and this time Vulpix shot an ember into the bush.

"YOW!" The voice, belonging to an older boy who shot out of the bush and was patting the singed back of his blue jeans, exclaimed. He seemed to be about twelve, with a short-cropped hairstyle that made his head look bald. The red shirt he wore bore the word 'Burn' on it.

"Nice Vulpix." He said slowly, looking down at her with a wide smile on his face, "I'll battle you for her."

"_Battle? Yes!" _Star exclaims quickly, but Sara shakes her head.

"No, not for Vulpix." She said to the other trainer, who glared at her.

"I just challenged you. It's impolite to say no." He insisted.

Elvina and Drake had stopped, and were listening to their conversation. Drake was lipping 'Don't do it.' to Sara. _"You see? We have to battle!"_

"Not for Vulpix." Sara repeats, returning the glare, "I will battle, but not for Vulpix."

"What if I offer you a Pokemon if you beat me?" The boy continues, his hand snatching a Pokeball on his belt, which he tossed to reveal a black-furred, catlike Pokemon. The Sneasel extended his claws, ready for battle. Sara was staring at him, wide eyed, "Sneasel for Vulpix, eh?"

"_Sara." _Vulpix mumbles nervously as she sees the want in her trainer's eyes. _"Don't do this…"_

"Sure!" Sara said quickly, unthinkingly. The boy smiled triumphantly as he whips out a Pokeball.

"One-on-one, no time limit?" He asks.

"Sounds good." Sara mumbles as she takes a few wide paces back, the boy does the same, "I'm Sara by the way."

"Adam, nice to meet ya." He replies, tossing a Pokeball at the same time as Sara. Sandsinger appeared with a vicious roar as a snake-like Pokemon appeared from Adam's Pokeball.

"**Milotic, the tender Pokemon and the evolved form of Feebas." **The Pokedex drones as Sara points it at the Pokemon. **"Milotic are said to be the most beautiful of all Pokemon. It has the power to becalm feelings such as anger to stop bitter feuding."**

"That's a cool Pokemon." Sara mutters as she notices Star was giving her an angry look, "What?"

"_I wanted to battle." _Star huffs.

"Milotic, begin with a Wrap attack!" Adam yells to his Pokemon, who nods and darts forward with amazing speed and rapped around Sandsinger, squeezing hard.

"Sandsinger, try to shake it off!" Sara exclaims, her Flygon trying to do that, but failing as the Milotic just wraps around her tighter. "Use Crunch!"

Milotic finally let go after Sandsinger's powerful jaws clamped down on her middle. When she released her enemy Pokemon, Sandsinger was breathing heavily.

"Your Flygon is going to love this, Milotic use Water Pulse!" Milotic's fanlike tail waves at Sandsinger, attracting attention from her arms, in which she slapped together to create a shock wave that crashed into Sandsinger's belly.

"Sara, you're not going to win like this!" Elvina yells at her friend as Sandsinger went toppling to the ground, just to get back up again with a few scrapes and cuts.

Sara's heart was racing, she was starting to panic. What were Sandsinger's attacks again? Her mind went blank as her dragon Pokemon turned her head back, waiting for an order. "Uh… use… Wing Attack?" She finally says, stating the first attack that came to mind, Star's main attack. Surprisingly, Sandsinger charged her enemy and slapped her across the face with one of her wings, however awkwardly.

"I didn't know Flygon could do Wing Attack." Drake mumbled to Elvina, who just shook her head.

"Let's finish this, shall we Milotic? Use Ice Beam!" Adam orders, and his Pokemon nods. Vulpix shuffles nervously, knowing what would happen.

Milotic shot an icy beam that chilled the air at Flygon, hitting her mark well. With a finally cry, Sandsinger went toppling to the ground, shivering hard. Sara recalled her Flygon quickly, feeling it become cold as her Pokemon entered it. She couldn't raise her head to look at Adam, whom she knew had returned his own Pokemon and had walked over to her, hand extended to get Vulpix's Pokeball.

"I'm sorry Vulpix." Came out to her Pokemon, who was backing away slowly from Adam and letting out a small blast of fire to keep him away.

"_No!" _Vulpix roars as she turns around and runs into the underbrush, out of sight. Adam followed her, still without her Pokeball.

"She'll be back." Elvina mumbles to Sara, having approached her, and patting her on the back. Sara finally looked up, her eyes clouded over.

"No she won't. I failed her, she's gone for good." Sara blurts. Star brushed her feathery wing against Sara's cheek as Elvina got a secretive smile.

"She will be back. You still have her Pokeball." Elvina says, pointing to the ball clutched in Sara's left hand. "Vulpix can't go too far from her Pokeball, you know."

"_She's right." _Star mumbles, sounding amazed, _"That's right! Vulpix is going to come back!"_

"And when Vulpix returns to you, Adam will be there. This next time, you'll battle him again." Another unfamiliar voice added. Sara whirls around to see a short girl, her hair already graying in areas, grinning at her. "Vulpix should be coming back soon." She continues, lilac eyes glittering mysteriously.

"And how do you know?" Drake pipes up from over Sara's shoulder.

"I'm psychic Drake." She continues, ignoring his question of 'How do you know my name?' like she gets it a lot. "And I know what the outcome of the most things will be already. It's depressing, knowing the future, knowing that no surprises await me."

"So you know our names, who are you?" Sara asks, unsure about how credible a psychic could be.

"I am Rika, silly. And maybe you should heal your Flygon, Sandsinger wasn't she? Yeah, of course that was her, anyway, I'd try Elvina's backpack for a Revive."

Elvina blinks at Rika as Sara digs into her backpack and pulls out a slender metal package, which was full of yellowish liquid. She let Sandsinger out again, the Flygon had stopped shivering but looked pretty bad. Sara caught what seemed like a glare from her Pokemon, but felt that she'd deserved it as she offers the Revive to Sandsinger.

She looked better afterwards, which was a relief for Sara. Sandsinger wordlessly returned to her Pokeball for a rest as Rika yawns widely. "Which Pokemon do you think you'll use against his Milotic the second time?" She asks.

"Uh… Star?" Sara mumbles, casting a glance at her fluffed-up Swellow, and noticing that she had company hovering close by, Mellow had come back. He landed on Sara's forearm just as Rika began speaking again.

"No, no. Your Swellow will stand little chance against a Milotic, no offense there Star. You won't be able to use Vulpix either. So what choice do you have?"

"I have to use Sandsinger again?" Sara exclaims thickly.

"Noooo! Think about it a second…"

"Uh, I should borrow Dorovi?" Drake snickers at that as Rika shakes her head. "Foam then? No, of course not." Sara named off all of Elvina and Drake's Pokemon before saying she was stumped. Rika, annoyingly enough, found this quite hilarious.

"Think Eevee, think Karen. You didn't forget about her, did you?" Rika's tone was taunting. Sara blushes and nods. "Well you're going to use Karen in the next battle."

"You know, from my experience, I've found that psychics are big fakes." Elvina grumbles, but Rika seemed to ignore her.

"Anyway, there will be a solar eclipse today-"

"That's going to happen tomorrow, smarts." Elvina cuts her off, smiling happily, "See? She has no clue what she's talking about."

Rika continued like Elvina had said nothing, "-and your Eevee will be ready to battle after it. Quite ready, if I do say so myself."

"Oh, and what do you prophesize oh wonderful psychic?" Elvina continues pointedly.

"That Karen will become powerful enough to beat a Milotic, that's all." Rika replies with a shrug. Elvina had a very annoyed look on her face, obviously not taken to psychics at all.

"Do you all want to know what I prophesize? I say that since the sun and the moon are both in alignment in a solar eclipse, which is going to happen _tomorrow_, which has a big effect on the tides in oceans, rivers, and lakes. My suggestion to you Sara, to solve your problems, is to drink more water."

Drake smothered laughs at that, but Rika found it far from funny. "It will happen today, and I'm not even going to start on what's going to happen to your Pokemon inside of the eclipse. Sadly, I cannot change the future, but this is one of those times I wish I could. Huh, good luck to you _Sara_."

They watched Rika turn and stomp off into the underbrush, dazed. "Good riddance." Elvina grumbles before tapping Sara on the head quickly. Mellow, whose additional weight had made Sara's arm numb, took flight and rested instead on Drake's shoulder. Elvina finally spun Sara into the right direction and pointed.

Perching on top of a young twig of a tree was Sundav, and the very vibrant light bird looked slightly impatient. _"You scared her away." _She growls at Elvina before continuing, _"The time has arrived that I always have dreaded, a full eclipse, which dear Elvina, shall happen today. I cannot be there for you Sara, even if it does last just under ten minutes time." _Her emerald eyes were focused on the sky, where a dark patch had started to creep over the sun, Sundav began to fade as it gained more ground. _"And so it begins. Best of luck as always, Lady."_


	14. Nekroquaza

**Chapter 14**

Darkness. It filled every square inch of space, blanketing the land like a huge, dark cloth. Some limited light still came from the sun, but it didn't give any comfort to the three trainers. "This won't last too long." Elvina said firmly, but didn't seem to believe the words.

A minute passed like an hour, yet nothing happened. Sara began to relax; it seemed that there was no danger to this darkness. But she was very wrong. The gloom around them seemed to take shape, turn and mold into a nearly visible form. The ground, stained pitch-black by the lack of sunlight, seemed to be a flowing river of darkness; all flowing to a central point.

"Do you see that?" Sara asked shakily, pointing a finger ahead. The outline that was Drake shook his head, but she wasn't convinced. Sara approached the mass of darkness, and gasped in shock.

"We need to get out of here!" She screamed, turning tail and fleeing for her life.

"What is it? Wait, Sara!" Drake yelled back, catching his friend in mid-flight. "What is it?" He repeated, feeling rather then seeing Sara shake.

"Don't go over… there…" Sara stammered, "Monster…"

"Don't be silly Sara, there are no such things as-" But Sara and Drake never really knew what there was no such thing as, because Elvina's speech was cut off by an ear-splitting sound. It wasn't a screech, it wasn't a roar; it seemed to be a little bit of both.

They turned, eyes widened with fright, to the source of the sound, just in time to see a snake-like creature to snake out of the mass of darkness. It spread its wings as it reached the climax of its height, tattered wings that were wide enough to block out the last remaining sunlight. The only bright points existing were an orb that the creature was holding, about ten feet in diameter, that glowed a glassy green and two eyes, tiny for the massive head they were placed in.

"What is that thing?" Sara squeaked out as the massive snake monster settled out of the way of the sun's sparse light, seeing that its head was about two times the size of a Snorlax, when closed. It also wasn't a pure black color, it only seemed like it. Dull amethyst ovals decorated its sides and head, ending in the sparkle of amethyst that was its eyes. Two large, clawed hands sprouted close to the creature's side, the left one holding the mysterious green orb.

Elvina numbly grasped Sara's Pokedex from her friend's pocket, and pointed it at the monster. The crackling sound of frying circuitry came from it instead of the witty comment about the Pokemon, and Elvina handed it back to Sara with a shrug. Her Pokedex had busted.

"QAZ!" The creature roared, mouth open and charging an icy beam. Like mice, Sara and her friends scattered as it fired an Ice Beam directly where they were standing.

"_It's insane!" _Star cried, her feathers puffed up protectively.

Elvina had stopped and was staring at the creature. "It's… it's crazy," She mumbled, "It will kill us all, it wants to."

The serpent dragon sent another icy beam in their direction, aiming poorly and hitting a tree instead, icing it over completely. It eventually gave up its icy attacks and held out the glassy green orb, which began to glow very brightly, illuminating the surrounding area.

"Watch out!" Sara yelled, but it was too late; a greenish beam shot from the orb and headed at incredible speed, right for Drake. With a whooshing sound, Drake's form disappeared into the beam, which seemed to be sucked back up into the orb. Sara just stood there in shock. What would happen to Drake now? Was he alright?

She didn't have time to ask questions of herself, because the dragon creature seemed to think it was a good idea to fire the green vaporizing beam instead of attacking. "I don't know about you," She heard Elvina say when she'd quickly dodged the next beam of green light, "But I'm fighting back. Go, Foam!"

With a bark, the Seel popped out of his Pokeball. He shuddered though, probably from the sight of the large creature. Sara decided that Elvina had a point, and that cowering would do nothing for the both of them… she pulled out two Pokeballs from her pocket and let Sandsinger and Karen out to battle. Star took flight and joined their small rank of Pokemon as Blaze, Skitty, and Huan joined in as well.

Sandsinger let Karen and Huan onto her back before taking flight and heading at full speed in the direction of the creature. She flamed its back as the two Eevee jumped off her back and landed on its middle, biting into its thin skin. Star skydived in mid-air to avoid another one of the green beams before landing just out of reach of the monster's claws and ripping with beak and talons at the back of its neck.

Their efforts went almost unnoticed. The creature didn't show even a bit of pain as it fired another one of the beams and captured Skitty and Blaze in it. Elvina let out an angry exclamation before running to join in on the battle herself. Even directly under the creature, she couldn't get to it, as it was levitating over her.

Another beam to its own middle, and Huan and Karen disappeared into the beam. Star then moved angrily to the monster's tattered wings and ripped at them, causing the first real pain for the creature. It lowed its tail just enough for Elvina, and Sara since she had come over to help, to jump on.

Foam shot foamy bubbles at the monster, earning its attention long enough to be captured by the beam as well. As the two humans were being shaken on its tail, Sara thought back to what Rika had said. How wrong she'd been! Karen wasn't with them anymore, she was gone…

An icy wave hit Sara; she shuddered and looked around for the first time. The half-lit area of grassland, since the sun had began to show her face again to the earth, was gone. Instead was what seemed like a plain of green, not like green grass, but green all the same. There was a clinging sound coming from close by, and she saw Dorovi tackling the glassy end of the plain. Drake was standing near, and was smirking slightly, "So good of you two to join me," He said, and Elvina groaned from her position next to Sara on what seemed to be the ground, "I was pretty lonely, for a minute or so, before you guys started joining me."

Drake waved to Skitty and Blaze, who were sitting somberly, close by. Karen and Huan tackled their corresponding trainers, giving them licks and loud mews.

"_Ouch!" _Cawed Star as she appeared out of nowhere, landing on Sara's back and looking around, _"Hey! Drake, you're here! And everyone else, too… man, what is this place?"_

"We're inside that glass ball that the creature is holding. I just hope that we can find a way out of here. Dorovi, Mellow, please do stop that!" Drake finally exclaimed to his two Pokemon, who were continuing their onslaught on the wall of the orb.

"_Nooo!" _Sandsinger was crying as she landed next to Elvina, _"He got me. Hi guys."_

"Hi Sandsinger." Sara and Elvina chorused.

"Now that everyone's here, how in the world are we going to get out of here?" Drake inquired loudly.

They all exchanged glances before Sara said, "It'll be a long day for us."

**(Meanwhile...)**

Solorite knew very well what the creature was. He didn't need to call him trite words like 'creature' or 'monster', this thing had a _name_.

The monster, by another name, would be called Nekroquaza. The same dragon that had killed Solorite's kind and loyal trainer, Mystic. She stood no chance against the big dragon serpent and was destroyed, like all humans would have been. What bothers him, all these years later, is that the creature still lived after him cruel deed. As a loyal Pokemon, he wanted to see Nekroquaza die a horrible death, far more horrible then his trainer's.

He wanted to help Lady Sara as she battled the nearly invincible dragon, to yell out his only weak spot, but instinct stopped him. Disasters attract Solorite's attention, and this could most defiantly be called a disaster. After so long being caught up, just for an eclipse to release him, Dominus's most loyal servant flies again. The worst thing was that he couldn't help Sara fight off Nekroquaza, as Absol are only to watch disasters happen, not point out how to fix the disaster before it happens.

After centuries, the Absol's sense of disaster never wore off; on the contrary, it got stronger. Strong enough to carry Solorite to Nekroquaza's tail and hop on, after Sara and her blue-haired friend were captured from the horrid orb-beam. He half-hoped that the dragon would notice him, so he could show them how to get out of the orb, but it was just luck that Nekroquaza didn't even try to find him.

The two Pokemon remaining, a Swellow and a Flygon, were both captured by the orb's beam without a problem. Nekroquaza bellowed to the sky his new claim over the air around him before setting off into pure daylight, the eclipse having ended by now.

Solorite hung on tightly to the dragon's tail, and didn't let go, no matter what. The world would need his wisdom again; he was the last remaining member of the Light Crusade. Seeing Nekroquaza awake again spurred the Absol to remember his old trainer again, Mystic had been the leader, the half-immortal of the Light Crusade. But that wasn't enough to save her. As the half-immortal of the Darkness Crusade, Dominus would be killable as well, but nobody really knew that any more. Nobody would tell Lady Sara, none that could talk freely.

But he would, by his blood Solorite swore it. He would help Lady Sara as much as he had helped Lady Mystic and her Pokemorph: the noble Sundav. With the death of Mystic, Sundav would be reduced to her first form, the one of pure light. Light would never die in her heart, yet it could be controlled with the right amount of force on the part of Darkness. Had Sundav talked to Lady Sara already? Told her everything he was about to?

As Solorite situated himself better on Nekroquaza's tail, he made a mental note to tell Lady Sara what position she held in the hearts of most Pokemon. She wasn't just a lady, she was the Lady. The Lady of the Day.


	15. Good Dragon and Bad Dragon

**Chapter 15**

"_Go back Jacob; I think they're actually reporting something interesting." _Alkie said as her trainer channel surfed on the television, large grey eyes dulled by all the boring pictures. Her hard golden hooves had dug for half-moon holes in the carpet of the room the two of them were staying in, but neither cared. Cobalt Inn would charge them for the damage done, as the lady behind the desk had informed them when Jacob came trotting in on Alkie.

Jacob yawned as he flipped back to the Pokemon News Channel, where a reporter was standing in the middle of a field. Big black letters at the bottom of the screen read: **Dark End Path.** "The one from Cobalt Strip to Twilight Town." Jacob murmured as the reporter continued to talk.

"…And heavy damage was done during the eclipse just two days ago!" She exclaimed, waving dramatically to a huge black hole in the ground just a couple of meters away. The grass seemed to be glowing slightly, like a neon marker had just run over their blades. And an odd oak tree had lost all its leaves like it was already winter.

"We suspect this is the work of Team Rocket! The masterminds behind this damage should be hoping that we bring Pokemon with us on this trip! But-" Jacob cut her off by switching the channel to a chubby lady singing in a voice that literally broke glass.

"See? Nothing there." Jacob said to Alkie as he turned to her.

Alkie snorted at him, _"Try another news channel. And please don't go back to this one." _Her ears were laying flat on the sides of her head.

"I won't, I won't!" Jacob grumbled as he flipped ahead five channels, to a male reporter sitting behind his desk. "Does the Ridge Daily News channel work for you?"

"_It is fine." _Alkie responded dryly as the reporter cleared his throat awkwardly and began to speak.

"And disaster occurred around Darkness Path-" He was saying as Jacob turned on his small rickety chair to give Alkie a kind of look that said 'See?' "-We think it was caused by this creature."

Alkie butted Jacob on the back of his shoulder, causing him to fall out of his chair as a picture of a large, dark snake came into view to the side of the reporter's head. He was roaring, but the sound had been muted so viewers didn't get headaches at one in the afternoon. The snake was flying by flapping tattered wings and undulating his body.

"This creature was seen flying over Twilight Town just a day ago, and is still northbound at this point. We cannot be certain what it is, but experts say it might be one of the creatures of legend, Rayquaza." Another picture showed up on the other side of the reporter's head, one that was a stationary picture of another snakelike dragon creature, but this one was colored in green, red, and golden yellow. Its wings were also different, being more rod-like, when the other dragon's wings were bat-like and torn.

"_Look!" _Alkie exclaimed, butting Jacob on the shoulder again. He groaned and responded that he was looking. Alkie snorted at him as she tosses her head at the pictures on the screen, _"The first one's tail." _

Jacob squinted at the tail of the moving dragon creature and gasped, "That's a Pokemon hanging onto it!" He exclaimed, scrambling to the screen to get a closer look.

"_An Absol." _Alkie supplied for him as his nose touched the screen. _"I know him." _

"That's nice Alkie. What's he doing on the tail of a large dragon creature, looking like he's hanging on for his life, and doesn't even seem to have the creature's attention?" Jacob responded, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"_No Jacob. I KNOW him." _Alkie responded stubbornly.

"I believe you! I was just asking why-"

"_You do not understand. I know him from my past life." _Alkie's voice was calm, but Jacob turned and looked at her with wide eyes, looking like she'd kicked him.

"No, no… you don't have a past life!" Jacob exclaimed with a nervous laugh, "You're kidding. I know you are…"

"_Jacob, you must face the fact that I have died once. Is it really that bad? Knowing that I'm a Pokesprite, but still taking up space on this planet? Jacob! It's not bad; I'm perfectly fine with my life. You know that I am completely immortal in this form."_

"But Alkie!" Jacob cried, "You are living. Not a Pokesprite, you're living. You drink water, eat, and talk! Sprites can't do that."

"_But they can. And they do." _Alkie cocked her head back at the television screen, _"That's Solorite, if I can remember correctly. We were good friends, we were. Surprising that he's still here though."_

"How do you know it's him?" Jacob asked quietly.

"_His markings. See the dark blue swirls on his fur? That's him, I know it."_

"So… what are you proposing we do?" He continued.

"_We go help him. We help him against that dragon too. Want to know his real name? It's Nekroquaza." _Alkie responded.

"Why is it so much like Rayquaza? They look almost the same, and they both have almost the same names."

"_It's a long story. Come on Jacob, let's go, and I'll tell it all to you later."_

"Right." Jacob responded with a sigh as he turned off the television and swung his bulging backpack onto his back with a groan. "I understand why I always let you carry this now."

Alkie snorted at him, _"Fine. Lay it on my back." _Jacob did as she said with a relieved sigh. Together, they marched out the door and to the reception desk, were Jacob had to pay two hundred Pokedollars extra for a 'Pokemon fee'. As they were hit by the rush of cold wind that came at this altitude, Jacob swung onto Alkie's back and enjoyed her warmth as she settled into cantering, heading north.

"_So you wanted to know about the two dragons?" _Alkie asked after a while, panting slightly between every couple of words.

"Yes, if it won't tire you out too much." Jacob responded, frowning slightly as his Pokemon jumped over a large rock.

"_It will not." _Alkie responded, _"Long ago, before man was ever born, Pokemon ran free in the clear, lush grasses of earth. It was then that good and evil were first born, in the shells of two Salamence eggs."_

She paused, half for dramatic effect and half so she could dodge a lone tree, _"One of the eggs was stolen by a Skarmory, who by legend took it back to her nest in the bramble bushes and mistook it for one of her own eggs. So she kept in and let it hatch on its own. The egg hatched, but the Bagon that hatched had a heart of ice, having never been warmed like its brother would have been. So that was the first time evil took a breath of oxygen."_

"So the reason we have good and evil is because of a stupid Skarmory?" Jacob exclaimed angrily.

"_It is only a legend Jacob. Nothing more. And think of this, if this tale is true, evil would have been born anyway. The egg the Skarmory stole was bound to already be tainted, right?" _Alkie responded, but continued before Jacob had time to argue with her, _"Well anyway, the evil Bagon grew a tough hide from being scratched in the bramble bushes, as his foster brothers and sisters became as hard as metal."_

"_Now I'm sure you're wondering about the other Bagon egg. It too was stolen, as Bagon eggs are delicacies for Milotic. The egg would have been eaten by the male Milotic who took it, but he found that it would be a good gift to give his mate, who had just clutched. The second egg was very small, about half the size of the other."_

"_When the male Milotic offered his female the egg to eat, she got very angry at him, as she thought that it was one of their eggs, it was that small. So neither ate it, because it joined the female Milotic's eggs. The Bagon that hatched was underwater, so he had to learn to swim to get to the surface for a breath of fresh air. That is why, today, the good dragon can swim with ease in water."_

"Okay then. But would the good dragon be Rayquaza or Nekroquaza?" Jacob interrupted her.

"_I am not done yet Jacob. Ask questions of me only when I am done." _Alkie responded, _"Both dragons were raised by their foster parents. The pair of Milotic felt bad that they'd accidentally brought a Bagon into the world, so they trained him to use water attacks and swim with ease."_

"_On the other hand, the bad Bagon was raised by the female Skarmory, who tried to teach him to fly, a dream all Bagon had, and dropped him one too many times onto his head. He grew more and more evil with the passing days, and when he evolved into Shelgon, his body had changed colors. He was now dark purple and black, and evil to the core. There was no saving him now, as his foster mother found out, and abandoned him soon after."_

"_The good Bagon also had a color change when he evolved, turning green and blue. He had learned from his foster parents to be kind and gentle, to love and be loved. In that sense, he was truly one of the best Pokemon you'd ever want to meet." _Alkie paused again as they finally reached the end of the down sloping trail and hit level ground.

"_The two brothers finally met one day, as the good Shelgon bid his parents good-bye for the final time, as they had both decided that he was ready to tackle what the world threw at him. So he headed away from his foster parents' lake and eventually crossed paths with his brother. The good Shelgon was friendly, but eventually was forced into a battle as his rotten brother thought he was invading his territory."_

"_Their battle lasted seven days and seven nights, a week by our terms. That's not how a week was formed though! During the eighth day, evolution occurred on both sides. The dragon of pure darkness, Nekroquaza, took wing first. But his brother was not far behind, Rayquaza evolved and they began battling in the sky, both wanting claim over the air around them."_

"_Now you're going to ask why they had such a freak evolution. The answer is simple; it's how they were born. Destiny played a role in this all, creating good and evil for the first time made it very easy for more of the same split to occur. A bad Linoone giving birth to a litter of Poochyena. Things like that have occurred in all of our pasts. And do you want to know the worst thing human history has on its record if this legend is true?"_

"Yes please Alkie. What is it?" Jacob responded.

"_Humans are said to have been formed when Nekroquaza needed servants to combat Rayquaza. So humans are supposedly all evil, yet we all know that is not the case. The masters of good and evil were and still are from the first humans."_

"Who are the 'masters' of good and evil then?" Jacob asked, "Even if this is just a legend Alkie, this is really very interesting!"

"_I know. That's part of the reason why I memorized all of the legend." _Alkie responded, _"The master of darkness and evil was born into a male human named Siron. He was and is a Pokemorph, that is, having a Pokemon attached as a part of him that he can turn into at any time. What the Pokemon was is a mystery to all of us, even though it does look to be a shaggy black creature that can stand upright. He took up the name 'Dominus' after taking control of all the darklings of the past."_

"_The master of good and light was a female human, named Mystic. She was also a Pokemorph, but loosely attached to a creature that she really had no control over, the same one that you saw in her weakest form, Sundav. She is the bird of goodness, and also one of the more famed legendaries, even though I am not going to tell you which one."_

"Why not?" Jacob wined, having been taking in all the information she'd been giving him and enjoying the story at the same time.

"_Because, just because. Mystic was not born a Pokemorph like her brother Siron, or Dominus, but was made one when a full-fledged legendary fused into her body. She became a half-immortal as Dominus was born one, and they began to battle with each other as they grew up. The first form of the Pokeball, coming from rounded nuts, was first used by Mystic, as she captured one of the more dark creatures to use, Solorite."_

"_This is the part that I know for myself is true. I was one of the Ponyta that were captured to fight for the title of Alkernos, the desert god or goddess. I myself was a good friend of Mystic's, she was about thirty then and in very good shape. I would say that you'd probably find that she was beautiful. After I had finally won my last battle, Dominus flew in on Nekroquaza, laughing like the maniac he is. Nekroquaza had eventually been enslaved by the darkness lord, and was taking orders from him."_

"_Rayquaza had eventually gone to rest, after being beaten for the final time. He respected Mystic, but was not enslaved by her, and took orders from her. But Solorite was there as well, and he fell into a protective pose in front of Mystic. Today, his fight with Nekroquaza is a legend in itself to Absol, who are probably the only good dark types other then Umbreon, who are okay."_

"_Dominus didn't want a desert goddess on the side of good, as I would have been, so he ordered Nekroquaza to destroy us both. In the end, an orange beam of light took both my life… and Mystic's."_

Jacob was stunned for a long moment. The story was so believable to him, and Alkie had been talking about her past life! He mouthed soundlessly for a while, not even noticing the scenery change around them, and the battlefield had been long past. "S-so you are a Pokesprite." He finally croaked out, "Not really here, just you are."

"_I am a Pokesprite, yes, but I am solid as you are. My life is now immortal, and I'm okay with that. But Jacob, I doubt that I would live after your passing." _Alkie responded.

"Wow." Jacob stated, "But what happened to Sundav then?"

"_Sundav was reduced to her weakest and first form, one that nobody really recognizes as a Pokemon. The bird make of golden light, only to become her second form soon. A light bird with glowing feathers of all colors."_

"Has she already reached her second form?"

"_I do not doubt she hasn't. My guess is that she's following that trio we met; Sara, Drake, and Elvina. They seemed to be good people…"_

"But-"

"_I do not know what Sundav is thinking. That is Sundav's private place, her mind. She is very wise, even though she did not look it."_

"_Your words, dear friend, give me too much credit." _Came the musical melody that was Sundav's voice. Jacob nearly fell off Alkie's back as he saw that a vibrant feathered Sundav come to rest on his Pokemon's long neck.

"_I only tell the truth!" _Alkie responded.

"_You do tell the truth, the whole truth. I myself wouldn't have started with the Bagon eggs." _Sundav replied, _"You should know that I cannot speak as freely as I want, with Dominus's power hindering me. My second form frees my tongue up some. So I shall ask you to tell what I cannot to Lady Sara."_

"_You have not called any human 'Lady' except Mystic. Is there something special about this Sara girl?" _Alkie asked curiously, coming to a halt next to a lake full of crystal clear water and letting Jacob jump off her back. He had decided it would be best not to bother them, since it seemed that Sundav and Alkie were good friends, but he would be listening anyway.

"_Special! My goodness Alkie, I would have thought you of all Pokemon could see the resemblance! She's very, very faintly related to Mystic." _Sundav began to cough a bit, like she was choking down a very big meal.

"_And how do you know that?"_

"_Because, my dear friend, she has the Touch." _Sundav replied, still coughing.

"_The Touch! That gift was supposed to be extinct!" _

Sundav shook her glowing head, _"Not anymore. Her mother has the same gift, but we shall not tell anyone about that, since we might lose Sara the way she's going. Nekroquaza has her in that dreadful orb."_

Jacob just sat down next to the lake, watching and listening as Sundav and Alkie continued to talk. It was decided that Sundav would travel and guide them to Sara, and from there they'd save her from Dominus, who by the light bird's report, was calling Nekroquaza far north to him.


	16. Rio's Warning

All credit for Rio should go to a friend of mine from Neopets, Laputa9. Yet another character I've borrowed.

**Chapter 16**

"Finally," The fiend himself said in a voice of pure jubilation. Rio didn't think it was possible for Dominus to sound so happy, knowing the Lord of Darkness. The teen wanted to erase the smirk on his face, but did not dare when he was still in Dominus's circle of trust.

"Finally what sir?" He asked politely, instead of the rude comment he had bitten back. The young teen bowed his head in respect as Dominus stood from the large stone throne he was sitting on to pace past Rio.

"Finally my most _loyal_ servant has awakened." Was the reply as he swept from the room, leaving Rio alone in his room, an incredibly stupid mistake.

"Loyal! Oh yes, quite! That dragon has the brain capacity of a Slakoth!" But luckily Dominus didn't hear him. Wounded pride had turned Rio and Dominus from blood buddies to bitter enemies. Wounded pride and anger, which didn't mix well at all.

A voice inside of him, like the ray of light that dimly shined through the single window in Dominus's tower room, called out for him to stop. Dominus would flay him alive for even touching any of the things in his room, and that wouldn't be good if he was planning to double-cross the strongest dark creature that had ever come into existence, other than Nekroquaza.

Dominus had 'blessed' Rio with a special power, one that he had barely any use for, the one that let him control what was basically the earth's rotation. In doing so, he could make the day night, and the night day, with a simple one hundred-eighty degree turn of the earth. How did everyone think Dominus could make it night everywhere he goes? He brings along his not-so-faithful servant to do it for him.

But that had all changed. Dominus must have caught some rumor of Rio's plans of treachery, because he had banned the teen from using his powers anymore. As Rio paced the room, he stopped to look at the ray of sunlight. One dim ray of sun had survived its trip through space, just to end up in the darkest place possible. But it had survived, which strangely gave Rio a boost of hope. He was to be that light, he would save the world from Dominus with the inside information he has. Because wherever there is darkness, there has to be a sparkle of light.

**(Meanwhile...)**

It had been four days since the trio and all their Pokemon had been sucked into Nekroquaza's orb. They had eaten all the food in Elvina and Drake's backpacks in the first two days, but their stomachs were rumbling for more. "I think Dominus is trying to kill us from starvation." Sara groaned as she searched her pockets for any sign of a morsel of food.

"More likely our smell will kill us first." Elvina replied sourly, wrinkling her nose. She was right though, not having a shower in four days really worked up a good strong stench.

Drake didn't contribute to their conversation though, he was digging through his own backpack in the hopes of finding food. "I got some!" He yelled, though it was muted a bit from the folds of his backpack. Moments later he pulled his head out of the backpack with a shiny metal something in his hand. He held it up to wave it both the girls' faces as Sara gave a snort of laughter.

"_Idiot." _Star cheeped, but it was half-hearted compared to the comments that she could make when her stomach was full.

"Uh Drake… that's not edible!" Elvina exclaimed as she grabbed for it.

"You're just jealous!" Drake said instead as he whipped away from her just in time, "That I have such a good meal now, and you don't!"

"I think this long stay in here has gotten to his brain." Sara said quietly as she stroked Star's soft feathers, as the Swellow had settled in her trainer's lap.

"_I agree." _The Swellow muttered, nipping Sara's fingers.

"But that's not even close to being eatable!" Elvina was saying as she continued to try to get it away from the ten-year old trainer, who was on the verge of eating his Pokemap 2000.

"Jealous, jealous I say!" He was exclaiming as Elvina finally stopped following him around. Drake cuddled the Pokemap 2000 before taking a big bite and nearly breaking all his teeth. "OUCH! What in the world am I doing?"

"Trying to eat your stupid Pokemap 2000, which belongs in the trashcan, like I've told you a thousand times." Sara responded promptly, earning herself a glare.

"_Dung brained." _Star grumbled.

"No, just hungry. Like all of us." Elvina replied.

Mellow suddenly chirped loudly, causing all of them to focus their attention on him. He was staring at what looked to be a very small hole, except it was getting larger. Air was being sucked into the hole, and when it got big enough, Mellow fell through it.

"An exit?" Sara asked softly, but watched as Drake jumped eagerly into it. "Or maybe a pit of no return." She continued bitterly, glaring at it.

The hole was still getting bigger, also sucking in air so much that it pulled the rest of the Pokemon through it, and eventually Elvina and Sara. Another wave of icy cold air rushed into Sara's face as her feet met solid ground, solid muddy ground. "Greetings." Growled a very icy, very familiar voice that made Sara's skin crawl slightly, "Welcome to my personal abode."

Standing just a couple of feet away was Dominus, his icy blue eyes glimmering with triumph. There was nowhere to run, Nekroquaza had curled his body around them and was snorting hot breath into the otherwise cold day. The sun was beginning to set by now. "You don't scare me." Sara growled instead at Dominus, who didn't look taken aback at all. He must have heard the slight waver in her voice when she had said that.

"Is that so? Well, I think my loyal servant Nekroquaza," Dominus waved to the massive Nekroquaza, "Is enough to get you scared."

_Nekroquaza, is it?_ Sara thought to herself as she glanced at the snakelike dragon creature. Dominus snapped his fingers at that point, causing a small group of men to appear around them. "My building army." He supplied cruelly, "It's not so big now, but just you wait, little lady."

Sara quickly recalled Sandsinger, Karen, and Star as Dominus's 'army' began to approach them with widened Pokeballs. Elvina and Drake did the same, then the three of them huddled together at the heart of the small space that had nothing on it. They were trapped, with Nekroquaza on one side, and Dominus on the other. There was no escape from that.

A day later, Sara found herself chained to the wall of a very cramped cell, awaiting something horrible to come and get her. She knew if she didn't do something soon, her days of living were over for good. Dominus had made sure that Sara had all her Pokeballs pulled away from her, probably he was placing those horrid bands around her Pokemon's necks as she thought to herself now. They had offered her food, but she dared not eat, lest they had poisoned the red 'cranberry juice' that they'd placed close to her side.

Footsteps signaled someone coming. Someone who wouldn't be friendly, since her friends were both tied up somewhere else. It wasn't a big surprise when a teen entered, his face covered by a mask that was half moon and half sun. The mask was interesting, but Sara didn't look at the teen for very long, so he wouldn't know she was interested in him.

"Hello." He said, a voice that was oddly comforting, "How are you, Sara?"

"What does it look like?" She growled instead, still refusing to look at the teen.

"I'm sorry about this. You see, I can't get you down from there yet, but I do have a plan. Dominus is going to want you to alive, but he'll kill you tomorrow if things go as he plans. Your heart is what he wants."

Sara wrinkled her nose in disgust, "And why are you telling me this? I really don't want to know my heart's going to be ripped out…"

"Because, just because." Was the reply.

"Who _are_ you?" She continued.

"The name's Rio. Now then, here are your Pokemon." Rio said as he slipped three Pokeballs into Sara's pocket.

"Did Dominus tell you to do this?" Sara continued, but was happy to have the familiar feel of Pokeballs in her pocket. Rio shook his head and held a finger to his lips.

"Shush, someone will hear you." He growled, lowering his voice. "Look, Dominus will have a very important visitor tomorrow, in which he'll attempt to summon a very powerful Pokemon for. Kyogre, if I heard correctly. Listen to me Sara, if he does summon Kyogre, that Pokemon will go nuts without something to calm it down. That's where you're going to come in, if we can't stop him, Dominus will want to sacrifice you to the mighty Kyogre to gain control of it."

Sara let this chunk of information clunk around in her mind for a while before asking, "Why are you telling me this? Do I really need to know how I'm going to die before I really do?"

"That's where my plan comes in." Rio responded with a wink of his blue eyes, "If Dominus is distracted long enough after he summons Kyogre, it will go nuts before he has the time to sacrifice you to it. I'll get you away after it flies away, or whatever it'll do, and we can escape."

He was beginning to back away, but was smiling slightly at Sara, "Rest up well, and I'll see you tomorrow, Lady."


	17. Rise of the Rain Maker

**Chapter 17**

"Ouch." Sara muttered softly as she was dragged and placed in front of the sea that was known as the boundary between Elemental Ridge and another more remote region. The two brutes that had dragged Sara and tied her up to what felt like a wooden pole moved to stand in the group of Dominus's army, who were watching with interest in their eyes. Something big, bigger then all of them, was about to happen.

"Glad you made it." The now familiar cold, heartless voice of Dominus came from just out of Sara's range of sight. He approached her with a triumphant grin spreading across his pale face.

"I'm sure you know what you're doing, Dominus?" Another man's voice, belonging to the one who had ventured to stand next to Sara, who was giving her a good look-over. "You've got a young girl tied to a pole… that just seems a little primitive…"

"SILENCE!" Obviously, Dominus had little more respect for his guests then for his enemies. "This is all needed! When I told you there would be some sacrifices made, I did not lie!"

"Sacrificing her?" The other's voice sounded dubious, "Are you sure?"

"Positive. Now if you're done gaping like an idiot, we've got a Pokemon to summon."

Dominus, along with the doubtful looking man, shifted so that they were standing at the edge of the sea, standing there like they were waiting for something. In this time, Sara got a good look at the back of the other man's head. He was tall, with a heavily muscled body that gave her the impression that he lifted weights often. A blue cap covered the top of his head, yet did nothing to the sideburns and goatee that were beginning to grow out of control.

"His name is Archie." Rio's voice in her ear made Sara jump, and the ropes around her neck tightened slightly. "Team Aqua's Archie."

Team Aqua. Sara had heard of them, the strange group of men and women that ran around saying that expanding the world's oceans was the best thing for us all. She personally believed that they, along with Aqua's exact opposite, Team Magma, were completely off their rockers.

As she was lost in thought, Rio slipped away to stand next to Dominus, yet his focus was on Sara, not what his master was doing. Dominus was tracing a last touch of blue ink over a miniature Kyogre, which was immersed in dark sapphire blue water, while a second Pokemon stood on ruby red ground, its large head tilted towards the sun, which was clouding over. All of this was on a large square block of pale stone, and seemed to have been made by hand.

"There." He grumbled, standing the stone up on its side with the picture perfectly facing Sara.

As if from an order, the rest of the onlookers stepped back a good distance away as Dominus's voice rose to a boom. "King of the sea! I order you, come forth and banish this planet in dark clouds of rain."

Nothing happened. The darkness lord stood there for a split-second, arms spread, awaiting the rise of a beast that didn't want to rise. Archie cleared his throat loudly, "Maybe you should be a little louder."

"Don't tell me what to do!" Dominus hissed in reply, "King of the sea! Come forth NOW and banish this planet in dark rain clouds!"

Again, nothing happened except Dominus roared in rage and fury at the motionless sea. "Maybe it has to be dark." Archie supplied when his icy gaze had turned to him.

"Rio." The darkness lord turned to his servant, who jumped in surprise at being addressed. "Make it dark."

There was a sigh from behind Rio's mask, "Okay." He finally responded in an angry tone as he snapped his fingers in the air. Sara couldn't see what exactly he was doing, yet she knew something was going on, as the day's sky had turned dark and starless without a trace of going back.

"Alright then." Dominus said, popping his neck in a way that made Sara cringe as he boomed even louder, "I order you to come forth, King of the sea! Come and wash these pitiful mortals in your watery glory!"

He had said the magic words then. If it was the darkness, or just the way he had added 'mortals' in, Dominus had done something right. The stone with the scene of battle came to life, showing Kyogre drench his opponent with a gigantic wave of water before rising out of the water in a show of beautiful glory. As her eyes darted from stone to water surface, Sara saw that the same was happening in real life, the huge head of Kyogre appeared out of the water, followed by two wing-like fins. His yellow eyes were still half-open, as if he was awakening from a very, very long sleep.

Instantly, as the two fins glowed red along different vein-like openings in Kyogre's body, heavy rain began to downpour from seemingly nowhere. It was as if the Pokemon had opened a hole in the heavens themselves, as it was impossible to see the rain clouds that were causing all this rain.

Kyogre let out a very high-pitched, scary shriek as his entire body made it out of the water to seemingly fly in open air. Under the rain, Sara could just see Dominus's drenched outline make a bee-line in her direction. _This is it. _Sara thought sullenly, knowing exactly what organ he'd rip out, _I'm dead meat._

"Dominus! Look over there!" She could barely hear Rio's voice over the howl of new wind, but Dominus had heard him, as the darkness lord's head went swiveling to the side. "A Vulpix!"

"Vulpix are worth nothing to me!" Dominus roared over the intensifying wind as he continued to try to get to Sara, but was now fighting Mother Nature herself to get there. Or, Father Kyogre, who had started this mess in the first place.

"But is a Manectric?" Another boomed above it all as Sara saw what looked like a blue dog that was giving off sparks from soaked orange-yellow mane fur.

A cloaked man had come to the rescue, and he was holding a very familiar Pokemon that made Sara scream about the rain, to the surprise of all, "VULPIX!"

Kyogre, with another loud shriek, flapped his fins like wings and was leaving before Dominus had a chance to sacrifice Sara to him. With a roar of pure fury, Dominus changed into his Pokemon form, complete with long silver claws and soaked black fur. His narrow red eyes locked on one thing to attack, the unfortunate Manectric.

Dominus hopefully got the shock of his life when his silver claws came in contact with the Manectric's flank. Off the top of her head, Sara remembered that Manectric stored all their electrical energy in the patches of yellowish fur, and shocked anything that came in contact with that fur. The darkness lord had been quite unfortunate as to have grazed the fur that puffed out from his back legs.

"Come on!" Rio growled to her, he had been cutting the rope that bound her to the pole without her realizing it. She took one last look at her drenched Vulpix and the mysterious man that was holding her before darting after Rio, as he was leading the way back to the stone castle Dominus called 'home'.

It seemed that the cloaked man was to keep Dominus in a fury, yelling for his 'army' to help him, but they weren't moving for the world to lay a finger wrong and be killed by their master. Rio and Sara burst into the castle soaked to the bone and shivering, yet there was no time to dry themselves as they pelted away from the rest of the world that was living as usual in the castle.

They carefully snuck down the stone staircase that was only lit by torchlight down to the dungeon room, where Sara had been held. It seemed that Elvina and Drake were there too, she had just not been able to see them on the either side of her prison. They both looked as if they'd known that this would happen all along, Rio had probably paid them a visit too, by the look of the Pokeballs at both trainer's belts and the backpacks waiting to be heaved onto their shoulders.

"Finally." Elvina blurted as her prison was open. She gave Rio a slight glare as she passed him, and stalked over to ruffle Sara's wet hair. "Thought you wouldn't make it, I did." She said gently, looking up. But Rio hadn't heard as Drake was freed as well and they all had assembled together.

"You're soaked." Drake said matter-of-factly as they all climbed the staircase and followed Rio into another corner of the castle, where he doubtfully opened a room to reveal an Abra sleeping on her own.

"Abra! Wake up sleepy!" Rio exclaimed, then sighed as the Abra rolled over in her sleep. "Come on… I know I'm not your trainer, but really…"

One sleepy eye registered the drenched Rio, and the Abra sat up abruptly. "Abra!" She exclaimed.

"She said, 'What do you want? I was having a good dream.'" Elvina said with a tone of importance.

"All that from one little word?" Sara murmured to Drake, who shrugged good-naturedly and hugged Sara briefly.

"Come on, come on! You can tell Sara you would have missed her, later!" Rio roared with impatience as he had gotten the Abra to agree to teleport them first to the sea-side, then to as far away as possible.

Sara, along with the rest, placed her hand on Abra's tail and felt a slight rush of wind along with the feeling of rain pelting her face once again. The Manectric was still fighting, yet he looked weak and was going to slip up and get seriously injured very soon. At sight of Rio and the Abra, the cloaked man recalled Manectric and dashed over to them before Dominus could hurt him too.

The last thing she heard before Abra teleported once again was Dominus's shrieks of pure fury.

Suddenly, they were in a clearing that Sara soon recognized to have the same purple shrubs as the path that led from Cobalt Strip to Twilight Town. She, yet again, felt cold from being completely soaked, and she wasn't alone. Water dripped slowly from the sides of Rio's mask, Elvina and Drake had become wet as well, and the cloaked man had tossed his cloak away in its wetness.

"Tabitha at your service, ma'am." Said a thuggish voice from the still soaked man that had been hiding under the cloak. A hood now covered the top of his head, ending with two black horn-like stubs. They all could recognize him as a member of Team Magma.

"Thanks for your help, Tabitha, make sure you tell Maxie to promote you…" Rio said with a nod to the Magma member.

"Oh no! There is nowhere for me to go but down from here!" Tabitha responded with a good-natured laugh, "I'm already second in command!"

"Good for you." Sara interrupted them, "But why in the world is Team Aqua and Magma involved in this anyway."

Tabitha's pale face turned from smile to scowl, "Sit down, all of you. This is something that you need to know."


	18. Althea

Spring Hawk from Scotland, as I shall call you for now, thanks a lot for your review. Having a character that always bites in her speech, as I have found, is very, very annoying. That's part of the reasonStar has good points sometimes.

Well, I've been waiting a while to give Vulpix her name… actually, this is about the best time to give her it, now! Tabitha is a strange name, I agree completely, yet it can be found in the Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald Pokemon games as the admin guy that challenges you to battle at Mount Chimney before you face Maxie, and before you face Maxie again in Emerald inside of Mount Chimney. So, I decided that he must be of some rank…

Even though I have not actually read the Abhorsen trilogy, I'll take your suggestion about the more neutral character. Oh, and Solorite will be coming back too in this chapter…

**Chapter 18**

"_I hate the rain." _Fiendre grumbled as he shuffled forward in the direction of Dominus's castle, not in the least bit happy about the rise of the rain maker. To him, rain was rain. Its clouds made the sky dark, yes, but it didn't help him in the least bit.

No human nor Pokemon in the castle looming ever closer ever liked Fiendre. It was like a rule that they were not to enjoy the company of a thief. A food thief, one that hadn't the fears in the world for the so called 'Demonic Dominus.' Dominus couldn't touch him; nothing could, because he was already dead. In a way, at least, as his form and soul had come back in an immortal form, as a Pokesprite.

Many of the Pokemon that walk the earth are Pokesprites, as he had come to realize from the discolored aura that one always gave off. As a Houndoom, he could see auras, as all dark types can. A sort of blessing from the 'Great Master Dominus.' Humph! When Fiendre gets a great master, he would be a very, very old hound indeed.

That, in a nutshell, is why he was hated so much by the ones associated with Dominus and his dark army. The Darkness Crusade, as it was called in the olden times. Since he never would fight for the dark ones, he was considered a light one. How sad, how pathetic their minds must be to think that!

Sides were for wimps, wimps that want to belong. But he wasn't a wimp, he wasn't born to hiss and spit at something for its side… the old leader of the Light Crusade, the 'Lady of the Day' as she would be called, had never appealed to him as a good leader. It didn't make any sense that she, of all people, would be blessed by the great Pokemon Sundav to control light… no sense at all.

That was the side he took, and the side he follows to this day. No Dominus could control him; no Mystic ever could touch him. An outcast, if you will. _"Hey!" _A voice cut through Fiendre's musings, one that was recognizable, but barely.

"_You." _The Houndoom growled in reply, stalking around the soaked form of Solorite, whom he now recognized by the dark blue swirls of color on the snow white of his fur.

"_You're still alive?" _Solorite said in reply, jumping back and giving Fiendre a good look-over. _"After all these years!"_

"_Don't get cocky! Just because you Absol live so long doesn't mean you can…" _He broke off with a threatening growl.

"_I'm a Pokesprite too, smart one. Absol only live for about a hundred years." _Solorite said after a pause, his eyes showing little pity for the words, _"But at least I came back because my life was for the better. You… on the other hand… you never did anything worthwhile. I'm surprised to see you've come back."_

"_Oh ho! Absol-boy's getting stuck-up! Why don't I show you which one of us is the better fighter?" _

"_You stand no chance against me. Besides, it is raining, and your kind," _Solorite's voice was dripping with scorn, _"doesn't like the rain much."_

"_Is your danger sense tingling Solorite?" _Fiendre was still mocking him, as there was nothing better to do.

"_The simple answer is yes. It is always tingling now. Do you know why, old dog?"_

"_Why, equally old creature?"_

"_Because, a new age is on us now. Dominus is closer than ever to getting the power shift he needs to completely destroy the light, for good."_

"_You should have passed on to the Afterworld. None of us here would have missed you." _The Houndoom muttered instead, thinking what he always did of Absol: They're all nut-heads.

"_Why did you stay behind then? You should have known that I was still here." _Solorite was beginning to show his impatience with the old hound, _"Look. I've just gone for a little trip on a big dragon, hanging on so I wouldn't be paralyzed for the rest of forever! But the reason for all of that, a little blonde girl, has gotten away from me. Have you seen her?"_

"_I might have." _Fiendre replied in a tone that said that he wouldn't give away any information without something in return.

"_Uhhhh! You're horrible! I wonder why I even talked to you!" _He roared impatiently, _"She's the new Lady, dimwit! Is that enough to get your attention?"_

"_No. I care not what happens to a little blonde girl." _Came the honest truth. Fiendre didn't give a hoot what happened in the struggle for power on this planet; just as long as he could get enough to eat.

"_Then consider this: if that little blonde girl dies, we're all doomed! Dominus knows how to make a Pokesprite pass to the Afterworld and he'll use it on all that aren't loyal to him! That means you'll be dead meat!"_

"_That's what you think." _Fiendre retorted, smoke coming from his nostrils in a snort.

"_Excuse me, but why all the noise?" _Another asked, a female Abra that had just teleported lazily on top of Solorite. The Absol was peering up at her curiously.

"_We don't get along well, that's all. Never had, huh, even if we have known each other for forever as it seems." _Solorite's voice had turned calm again. _"Say, have you seen a little blonde girl anywhere?" _

"_Sure. I just dropped her off with a group of humans at Dark End Path." _The Abra responded airily, like it was no big deal.

Solorite seemed to lose all control over himself as he cried, _"Oh heavens! How in the world am I going to keep her safe if she doesn't even pay any attention to me?"_

"_Well, you weren't there." _Abra yawned and scratched her leg, _"Or I would have teleported you too."_

"_Can you teleport me now?" _He asked anxiously.

"_Like it would make any difference if you're her body guard." _Fiendre grumbled, _"You couldn't protect a Pidgey egg!"_

"_Sure I'll teleport you. Right after my nap…" _

"_Nap? What, no nap! And don't look at me like that Fiendre; I'm not done with you! Please, teleport me now, then take your nap!"_

"_Fine." _She finally grumbled, _"But you owe me…" _As her psychic energies built up, for Fiendre could sense them, he darted forth and teleported along with Solorite.

**(Meanwhile...)**

"Team Aqua and Magma were not part of the ongoing war between good and evil until now, when Dominus promised Archie that he would expand the seas when he won and killed everything and anything good and light." Tabitha started, as he petted Vulpix like a little lap-cat.

"Can I have my Vulpix back?" Sara blurted, totally being off-topic at the moment. Tabitha seemed to not like that, as he probably would have been trained to be strict and pay full attention to something being said. Muttering under his breath, he held out the crimson fox and let Sara take her.

"_I missed you too…" _Vulpix squeaked as the breath was forced out of her by the hug she was getting from Sara. She was very, very happy to see her Pokemon again.

Tabitha cleared his throat just as Sara began to coo over her Vulpix. "Anyways, back to business. Archie, finding this a wonderful deal, approved completely to merge his forces with Dominus's very scant ones. It's sad; Dominus doesn't have much of an army without Team Aqua. So Aqua is basically part of the Darkness Crusade-"

"Darkness Crusade?" Drake repeated.

"Dominus and his followers are the Darkness Crusade, as the ones associated with good are the Light Crusade." Tabitha responded just as Abra teleported off, probably to get a good rest, as she looked very tired and disoriented.

"So, Lady Sara, I speak for all of Team Magma with this. We are ready to join _your_ ranks, to fight for good against the Aquas."

"Is that… it? All that you have to say, that is?" Sara asked.

"Yup." He responded with a shrug. "Oh, and does your Vulpix have a name? It seems rather dimwitted to call her by her species name."

"_I do have a name." _Vulpix responded before her trainer, _"Just nobody has cared to ask what it is."_

"_So what is it, intelligent one?" _Star snapped at her. Sara had let her out just as Tabitha was talking.

A new voice spoke up. It was one of the oldest ages, one that was creaky, like it was not used much. Or not used much in the language that it was speaking. "Her name is Althea."

Eyes turned to see that three dripping forms had turned up behind Tabitha, the Abra was back, and she had brought friends. One of them was a soaked Absol, with his fur looking as if it had been stained in patches to a dark blue on the whiter fur. He had stepped forward and stalked over to sit in front of Sara, his eyes fixed on her with a passion that could not be described.

The other drenched form, that of a very old, bony Houndoom, shook himself off while spraying water everywhere. He appeared to be very uninterested in the conversation, by the way he placed himself when he sat down, tail curled around his body in a taunting way. But, as Sara noticed, he had one ear cocked in their direction.

"_He is correct." _Althea responded with a huff.

"Of course I am." The Absol responded, speaking English so perfectly that Sara was surprised that he was a Pokemon. On looking around, she wasn't the only one, as the other humans were gaping at him, even Elvina who always understood Pokemon.

"You know each other?" Sara prompted, starting to feel a chill come over her. A talking Absol, knowing her Vulpix, that couldn't be good.

"Yes, we both date back a while. How are you, dear friend?"

"_As fine as ever." _Vulpix responded quietly, shifting her position on Sara's lap to pounce off and on top of the drenched Absol. He quickly rolled away and she had to pounce in his direction again, before they both went tumbling together like a pile of soaked fur.

Sara exchanged incredulous glances with Elvina before realizing that the two of them were playing around like old friends. "Oh, excuse me." The Absol said as he righted himself, Althea clinging to his back. "I just was very happy to see my daughter."

"Daughter?" She repeated, more to herself, "You're her father!"

"Sure. I can recognize my child." He shook Althea off his back playfully, just to get pounced on again.

"That's actually possible." Tabitha pitched in, "Having a Pokemon with a mother or father that is not of their species. I wouldn't be surprised if Althea has a brother or sister that's an Absol as well. Am I not right?"

"_You're right." _The Vulpix replied as she finally slumped, her fur ruffled, tiredly to the ground.

Sara nodded, as the Magma admin couldn't understand Vulpix language more then any other normal human could. "But she has some properties of an Absol. I'm still correct in assuming this, right?"

"You are." The Absol replied, licking his daughter over the ear, "But that's not true in looks." He seemed to grin, "She's got her mother's charm, what a relief that is!"

"So… but… that means that… you probably lived in Forest Path!" Sara finally exclaimed, pointing a finger at the Absol.

"Indeed." He agreed, with a nod of his head. "And you captured one of my children too! If you were any other trainer, I would have to steal her away from you!"

"So what makes me special?" Sara murmured quietly, watching her Vulpix paw playfully at her father.

"You're the Lady of the Day." He responded, sounding like she should know all this already. "This means that I have to protect you." An annoyed snort came from the Houndoom at that.

"So that's what 'Lady' means."

"Indeed it is. You have a lot to learn, and a lot to accomplish. My young daughter and I can at least help you with that." His tone was mysteriously quiet, and when Sara opened her mouth for more questions, he winked at her. "Call me Solorite by the way. And don't pay any attention to the Houndoom over there, Fiendre; he's just jealous of the world."

Fiendre snorted again and curled up for an evening nap. Drake voiced something that Sara had been thinking, "We should be getting to sleep too!"

"Agreed." Rio mumbled in reply, "We can do nothing without proper rest."

There was a murmur of said agreement from all Pokemon and humans at that, as they would take the Houndoom's lead and get to sleeping. After telling Rio and Tabitha to go a little ways away, as the trio and their Pokemon didn't seem all too comfortable around the new-comers. They agreed quickly enough.


	19. A Second Try At Winning

Spring Hawk, I'm glad you like Fiendre! (And I really don't know where those two paragraphs came from… OO) Fiendre knows Solorite well, and it's just in his nature to be belligerent and challenge him. He knew that he wouldn't be fighting. And there might just be a hidden side to Fiendre, even though for a fact he didn't get enough to eat hanging around Dominus's castle.

Catalina? That would have worked too… oh, now I'm going to name some random Pokemon in this story Catalina because I like it. As for the Abhorsen series, I'll have to read those! They do sound interesting… And Houndoom have ears… I think… yeah, because when a Houndoom from Pokemon Stadium 2 strikes his battle pose, his ears twitch. Thanks for your review!

Moon, this chapter is much longer this time! ;)

**Chapter 19**

"What's wrong Sara?" Asked Elvina with a note of worry in her voice as she looked down on her friend. Sara's normally bright, cheery face was set with worry lines. The blonde girl's Vulpix, whom was now to be called Althea, was fast asleep on her lap, like a little crimson puff-ball.

"I can't keep from thinking about Rika…" Sara murmured, running a slim hand over Althea's red fur. It was then that Elvina noticed that she was awfully pale, as if coming down with something; the shade of cream was gone from her skin.

"_Worry wart." _Star had been perching in the grand oak tree looming behind them, being her normal, snappy self.

"_Star, be polite." _The snappy, normally agitated voice of Dorovi growled from under the tree, as he had been basking in the late morning sun. _"Sara has a right to be nervous, if you ask me."_

"I would agree with you." Elvina murmured to Dorovi, yet snapped to attention when the blonde's focus turned back to her.

"What did you say?" She asked curiously.

"Errm, nothing. Anyways, Sara, if I've told you once, I've told you too many times, that Rika was a big fake anyways. She said that _Karen_ would become strong enough to take down Adam's Milotic, yet did she change in any ways at all?" Elvina didn't wait for an answer and abruptly shook her head, "There you go! Don't worry about it, it won't happen."

"What won't happen?" Rio was heading towards them, flanked by Drake and Tabitha. They had been hunting, who knows where, Elvina didn't know, and had their hands full with Corphish (Who were still alive and snapping at Drake's hands.) and a couple of assorted, small fish.

"What are we going to do with crabs like that?" Sara countered quickly, motioning to the Corphish.

"We're going to eat them." Rio responded, yet there was a stubborn expression on his face that even his mask didn't hide. "But what won't happen? A lot of things happen around here."

"Some stupid boy isn't going to come back and try to take Sara's Vulpix, that's what." Elvina said for her friend, who let off what sounded like a relieved sigh. "Now let's eat before the Corphish there cut Drake's hands to shreds. You remember what happened with the Roselia, right Drake?"

Even though Tabitha and Rio both looked stumped about the Roselia, Drake's ears blushed a deep scarlet. "Yes, well… these haven't hurt me yet."

"And this is when one of them gets curious and decides to clamp onto one of your fingers." Sara blurted.

"Roselia? They can't hurt a fly…" Tabitha snorted, "Really…"

"No, no! Roselia can be killers!" Sara was snickering by now, Drake becoming more and more scarlet as they spoke.

"_Ha ha!" _Star's jittering came from the tree again, _"That was hilarious! Drake, we should bring you back to the Roselia Gardens sometime!"_

Eventually, actually, the Corphish got away, scurrying to freedom, since they actually did realize Drake's fingers were a weak point… oh, well, that wasn't so bad, since Drake's Pokedex droned that Corphish weren't really tasty anyways. As a newly lit fire, from Althea's mouth, cooked their fish meal, Sara decided to tell the whole tale of 'Drake and the Roselia'.

"You see, Roselia like sunlight like any normal plant, so that's why they all live around the limits of Sun Desert and Jade City." She began, to nods, "Well, the place in which they like to bask in is called the Roselia Gardens. Drake got the idea that he could catch one."

"It didn't work well." He interjected.

"No, of course it didn't, or he would probably have a Roselia by now." Sara motioned where Drake's three Pokemon had decided to perch, sit, and relax. Actually, two, as Mellow had decided that Star's tree was better. She was squawking at the male Swellow in the background. Elvina found this hilarious, even if Mellow and his court shipping were serious.

"Anyways, he ordered Dorovi to use Crush Claw on the biggest one there. It was huge! Well, it seemed to be the Roselia leader, the King, if you will." She pretended to be wearing a crown, which excited a chuckle out of Tabitha, "He cried to the other Roselia, who in turn began to attack Drake and Dorovi. Except… Dorovi was safe in his Pokeball after he knew what was happening."

"Drake was lucky to escape with minor cuts and scrapes from the things." Sara concluded, as the fish started to smoke slightly. They were quickly taken up and distributed, two small fish per person or Pokemon, which was amazing seeing as there was so many people and Pokemon. Yet, Rio and Tabitha were feeding most of theirs special food themselves. No small task, but Rio only had to feed two of his Pokemon breakfast, including one temperamental Geodude and a very large Blastoise. Tabitha seemed to be putting his on a diet of things that would make his Pokemon stronger, faster, and overall better in battle.

Elvina got to talk to his Manectric, the only really interesting one in the bunch. He wasn't as scratched up now as he was a couple days ago, when he was holding Dominus up. Tabitha had a couple of interesting potions that she had to remember to ask him about, as they did wonders for an open wound.

"Was Dominus hard to battle?" She had started out, causing the electric dog to jump in surprise.

"_As hard an opponent as I've ever had." _He responded airily, as if knowing for a fact that Elvina wouldn't understand him anyway. As with most Pokemon, the Manectric got a shock when he realized he was wrong.

"That's interesting. So Dominus isn't all he's cracked up to be?"

"_He's never been all he's cracked up to be, human." _The fiery tone of Fiendre cut the Manectric off before he could even reply. The Houndoom had been carrying a Pokemon that Elvina didn't really want to recognize, as he had been eating at it for a while.

"And what makes you so sure?" Elvina countered, "Even a Houndoom as obviously old as you couldn't have known what Dominus was like so long ago."

She had said it then, the hound barked with laughter that literally had him shaking all over. _"Oh… oh, humans… so clueless!" _

"I'd like to know, if you don't mind. Knowledge is the cure to being clueless." Elvina leveled a scowl on him, which was taken as little threat.

"_I can't agree with you there." _He argued, when recovered from his laughing fit, _"Humans were created to be clueless creatures. And they're serving their purpose well, they are. Would Armaldo, for example, still be alive right now, if it were not for humans?"_

"Well, we recover them from fossils in their unevolved form, then they eventually become strong Pokemon, then well, some can't do without them now, I guess. But true enough, Armaldo wouldn't be alive if not for humans."

"_Huh, and am I not the only one who notices that Pokemon like that were not supposed to have come back? They all died out of natural causes. But why did they get brought back? Humans, stupid, who thought they were coming up with a breakthrough." _At this point, the Manectric scampered away, sensing the growing argument coming from them both.

"So what's wrong with them, might I ask you? I have never, in all my life, seen an Armaldo make any sort of news for being destructive in any ways." Elvina countered.

"_Yes, but, what happens with the Armaldo and their unevolved form… Anorith, I would think, bloom in population? That makes all of them are life that can never come back, since they have been registered as extinct, so none of them may come back as Sprites-"_

"Sprites?" Elvina repeated, "What are you talking about?"

"_Huh, you don't know? I thought as much… Pokesprites are Pokemon that can evade the Afterlife after they die, and come back as immortal forms. Very, very few Pokemon really come back, even though the Sprite population never really decreases much these days, so there are a lot of us. Yes, I'm a Pokesprite, so you know that I've seen Dominus for what he really is," _The old hound's voice was full of scorn, _"An old fake. His empire was built on collective fear, in which it grows every time someone shows fear for the man. He's just a normal human, save for the Pokemorph part, which can be taken care of in most normal ways."_

"So you're saying that you've lived for thousands of years."

"_Exactly! Now that your puny human brain has finally grasped that concept, you'll believe that Dominus shouldn't be feared."_

"_As fear creates a stronger evil." _Murmured Huan, licking his mouth clean of the fish taste.

"Where did that come from?" Elvina asked, stroking her Eevee warmly across his back.

"_I don't know. But my mum said all the time to me when I was a little one, so I just remember it all the time."_

"More…" She heard Drake wine, and knew that he had finished his meal. It was funny, as Drake always wanted more to eat, all the time.

With one last, fleeting look at Fiendre, Elvina picked up her Eevee and headed back to their camp, and not a moment too soon. For out of the underbrush sprang Adam, with his Milotic right behind him. "Finally! I've finally found you again!" He exclaimed, holding out his hand just as Solorite, hissing and spitting, came to a protective pose in front of Sara, "Your Vulpix, if you will."

"For another battle, maybe?" Sara suggested mildly, yet there was a slight quiver in her voice.

"You aren't getting my daughter. Tell Dominus that much." Solorite roared, the fur on his back sticking up and fluffing now.

"Dominus!" Sara repeated, looking from Adam, then casting a puzzled look to Rio. He scowled and nodded at that.

"Solorite's daughter, how he can't wait to get his hands on her! Draw you Pokeballs Sara, you'll need them today!" The familiar voice of the man that had called himself, 'the Lord of the red-eyes' came from behind Adam. Top-hat and all, the greasy man was back, and grinning wildly.

"Two on one, that's hardly fair!" Rio interjected, standing at Sara's side, "It shall be a fair fight, if I have anything to say about it."

Elvina glowered at Rio as she pushed him aside. "I'll battle with my friend, thank you." She spat sourly at him, as he fell over.

"_Ahaha! Good one Elvina!" _Star chirruped.

"Okay, alright, fine!" Rio growled as he retreated away from them.

"One Pokemon each." Adam said in measured tones, "Is your Flygon ready for another pounding, Sara?"

"No such luck with that." Sara growled in reply as she nodded to Karen, of all Pokemon, "I choose my Eevee."

"And I choose Foam, go!" Elvina barked to her Seel, who shook in shock before moving in front of her in a battle pose.

"An Eevee and a Seel, you've got to be kidding me! Alright Milotic, let's show them what a real battler looks like!" Adam exclaimed, as they all gave room for the battleground, stepping back and away from the now smoldering fire. The serpent creature cried and snaked around to level a vicious pose at her enemies.

"Right, Aero." The other man tossed his Pokeball and released an Aerodactyl, who let out a roaring cry to the sky before leveling himself with flaps of his heavy wings.

"_Tampering with nature, I say." _Fiendre murmured, he had taken a spot aloofly at the side of Elvina. _"Yet another Pokemon Mother Nature decided to do without…"_

"Sara, Elvina! Pay attention to that Aerodactyl!" Rio roared from the sidelines, worry in his voice.

"Oh, and Rio…" Aero's trainer leveled him a very nasty gaze, "Dominus has so many _nice_ things to say to you…"

"Be quiet Famulus, tell Dominus he can shove it!" Rio retorted, and finally they knew the man's name.

"Are we going to battle or what?" Elvina asked impatiently, pointing a finger at the flying creature, "Foam, Aurora Beam!"

The multicolored beam that shot from Foam's horn looked as chilling as it really ways, aimed strait for Aero. The Pokemon waited for the last second to dodge the beam, and even then it did it too quickly for comfort. This Pokemon was _fast_.

"Ancientpower." Famulus said with a snicker. The creature's response was to go into a nose dive at Karen, and upon impacting ground, as the Eevee was fast enough to dodge it, the ground crumpled up and rolled after her, as if trying to swallow Karen up. This continued for about a minute, until she jumped over the tide of ground and back flipped to safety.

Upon orders, Karen jumped for Aero's wing to clamp down on it with her powerful mouth, but was swatted away by Milotic and her large, fan-like tail.

Another Aurora Beam was shot at the Aerodactyl, this time with Karen attacking him at the same moment, causing enough mass confusion that he was hit by the beam and momentarily frozen in mid-air. But with a shake of his body, the Pokemon was as good as new, and maybe more ferocious then ever.

A wave of water crashed down on both Karen and Foam, the Surf attack sent over by Milotic. It was enough to get Elvina's socks soaked and shoes drenched. She noticed that Karen was already in a bad condition, breathing heavily already. The Aerodactyl dove at her with mouth gaping wide, immense fangs ready for the taste of blood. But that taste would never come.

Right before Aero had the chance to clamp down on his enemy, Sara cried out Karen's name with some force. It was like a surge of power for the Eevee, as she turned and surveyed her trainer, face contorted with fear for her, in which she used to not only dodge the attack, but cause some damage as well.

The Eevee gave a mighty leap and landed on Aero's back, where the Pokemon was stunned for a moment before realizing what happened and attempting to shake her off. And he eventually sent her flying, after Karen had taken a mouthful of the tender skin on his wing with her.

"Karen!" Sara gasped again, eyes wide and mouth open as she watched the show of light that happened as she fell right in front of Milotic, the serpent creature with tail ready to swipe. She became larger, ears lengthening and tail splitting. Just as the show of light fell away, Karen was swatted back at Foam.

Even though the Seel saw the completely silver-furred Pokemon heading straight for him, he wasn't fast enough to get away from her. He and Karen became a pile of Seel and Espeon for a second, before Karen righted herself and fixed her glassy purple eyes on Sara. Instantly, Sara broke out into a wide smile at her Pokemon, before telling her to try a Swift attack.

The stars that Karen shot from her ruby jewel were too numerous to avoid, and the Milotic felt damage for the first time in this battle. Some of the rays even veered off course and hit the Aerodactyl, but he paid no heed to them as he did a full body slam on Karen, giving her heavy bruises along her back and side. Evolution or not, Karen couldn't keep this up for very much longer.

"Foam, try an Ice Beam attack!" She ordered her Seel, who put on a mask of intense concentration before he fired, with pain as it looked, an icy beam that scraped across the Aerodactyl's side. He roared in pure fury before going into a nose-dive, and was shocked to find that he could no longer move downward.

Karen's ruby jewel was glowing brightly, creating a barely seeable wall in front of Aero. As she put her concentration into it, the barrier caused by her Reflect attack grew and folded around the creature. "Now, Foam." Elvina said, taking her cue from the look that Sara had given her, "Use another Ice Beam!"

Milotic wasn't going to just sit there though, she took the attack that Foam had aimed at Aero, and took another Ice Beam as he tried, frustrated, to hit his original target. Her middle was icing up, and she looked to be freezing finally from the attacks. But Karen's head was starting to bob slightly, the glow of her jewel diminishing, as the Aerodactyl slammed himself into the barriers holding him away from the fight.

Finally, just as Aero claimed his freedom again, Foam got a clear shot at the Pokemon, in which he hit his mark well. Completely frozen over from a hit to the chest, Aerodactyl crashed to the ground in a faint.

Scowling, Famulus recalled Aero and stepped back, before retreating into the darkness with, "You can still handle them." To Adam before he was gone. His Milotic, compared to Karen and Foam, was still in a good condition. Karen slumped down, exhausted, from holding the Reflect attack way too long.

It was a good chance to even the odds, which was taken as Milotic sent Karen flying for the last time with a flick of her tail. The Espeon landed hard off to the side, near Fiendre who gave her a sniff before getting up and retreating back some. She, too, had fainted.

This was it now. Elvina could feel the sets of many eyes boring into her back, the hopeful ones of Althea, the furious ones of Solorite. She would have to win, to prove that she was just as good of a Pokemon trainer as any of them, and send these darklings back to the dark hole they crawled out of.

The surprise came when, of all Pokemon, Mellow landed on her left forearm and gave her his vote of confidence. Murmurs from many of the other Pokemon that were watching, both captured, and the wild Pokemon that made this forest their home. The wanted her to win. And win she would.

"Foam, use Headbutt!" Elvina cried, her Pokemon obeying her with a charge at Milotic and stab at her with his horn. It wouldn't be able to do much, but as both Elvina and her Seel knew, his evolution was close enough that if he could just get enough experience…

Foam received a slam from the Milotic's tail for all his troubles, and he actually slammed her back. For a second it appeared that they would slap each other around with their tails until Foam let out a barking cry and flopped over, looking as if he had been defeated.

The forest, and all the Pokemon in it, seemed to hold in their breath. For a sinking heartbeat, Elvina thought that she had lost it, lost the chance given to her to save Althea. But… it wasn't the case at all.

Another heartbeat later and Foam was back up, panting heavily. In his eyes glowed a new-found power that soon spread across his body. It was now Elvina who was holding her breath, as she admired the magnificent change that was happening to her Pokemon. She had seen it before, yes, many times, but it felt much different to be the trainer of the Pokemon who evolved.

The fully grown Pokemon lifted his head, standing higher, and letting out an air of power. He had succeeded, he was a Dewgong! Shivers when down Elvina's spine when she remembered the cold attack that her Pokemon had just learned through his evolution, and when she uttered the two words in an order, they seemed to have the same chill to the air. _Sheer cold._

Foam clapped his fins together, creating a slapping sound, before launching his attack. Suddenly, the air all around felt frosty, yet Elvina was glad she was standing behind Foam, not in front of him. A cold mist settled around Milotic, who helplessly waited for the end. The mist solidified into a sheet of pure ice, in which the serpent Pokemon was encased it. For a second, the statue-like figure just stood there, before collapsing over, the ice shattering in large chunks.

Adam recalled his Pokemon, then turned tail and fled, before he had to face them. It took a second for the thought to sink in, _they had won_! "Wonderful!" Rio broke through the silence, "Not one, but two evolutions in one battle! That's nearly unheard of!"

"Thanks." Sara muttered, casting a shiny-eyed glance at Elvina, "But it was Elvina who did all the credit."

"Oh no you don't! You're not putting all the credit on me!" Elvina beamed down on Sara, as she was much taller being six years older, "_We_ won. And that's all there is to it."

"I'll bet you Dominus is going to be steaming!" Drake exclaimed brightly, "And he'll probably want Karen now too!"

"_But he won't get me." _Althea barked firmly, exciting a tense laugh from her father.

"Of course not." He murmured, looking after Famulus and Adam, "None will touch any of us."

"You see?" The misty voice of Rika put in, "Wasn't that a nice battle?" She was leaning on an old tree, grinning at Elvina in particular. "And do you still believe that I'm a nut-case, Elvina?"

She blinked, "How did you know-"

Rika waved her question away impatiently, "I know everything, besides, you all should be heading to Cobalt Strip right now. On your way, you might find a friend or three…" The psychic smiled brightly before turning and flouncing away.

"Who was that?" Tabitha asked quietly, "And what in the world was she talking about?"

"You don't what to know." Elvina put in, "You really don't want to know. Now, come on everyone! We've got Pokemon to recover and places to go!"

Sara, with one look at the Pokeball that held Karen, nodded her agreement at that statement.


	20. Split Up!

Well, I've now realized that Tabitha is indeed a girl's name… but we shall not go into that. So I'm going to change 'he' into a 'she' throughout all the chapters Tabitha shows up. Hehe, sorry about that!

I understand that this update is quite late, by my standards at least. But I can't help it, I'm very busy with the end of school exams coming. (They're worth 25 percent of my second semester grade, I should be worried!) So, please, no comments on the lateness of this.

W.I.T.C.H Shaman Lee Code Red, my names are a bit strange, but they all have some sort of normal-ness to them. …So don't think I'm strange, please…

Skitty! I was wondering what happened to you… you know how to make page breaks too! Will someone please tell me how to make them so I can take out all the '(Meanwhile…)'s out?

**Chapter 20**

Tabitha jumped, something in her pocket vibrating like mad. "What's happening?" Drake asked, dazed, as he hadn't woken up fully yet at eight in the morning.

She pulled a red and black pager out of her pocket; it was indeed shaped like the Team Magma insignia. "What's the problem?" Tabitha asked promptly, just to jump back in shock when a face appeared on the screen. "M-mister Maxie!"

His face was pale, for he normally suffered from chills. That was part of the reason Maxie started Team Magma… "I need you back here now Tabitha!" He roared, in a voice that seemed to know that it would always be followed without question. The stress lines on Maxie's face were showing, from all the years of yelling at green recruits, a sign that he was truly worried about something.

"Yes sir!" Tabitha exclaimed, making a big deal out of saluting so he'd see it. The screen then went blank again. To the others, who were staring by now, she explained, "I need to get back to my team's base. You guys can come, I guess, and maybe talk to Maxie."

"But we need to get to the Pokemon Center! My Espeon is hurt!" Sara exclaimed.

"We can heal your Espeon there, now we need to move out!" Tabitha responded bluntly, then turned away to show that the conversation was over.

Behind her back, she heard Sara murmur, "Well, I'm going back to Cobalt Strip…" and the ruckus it caused.

"You cannot be left alone!" Both Rio and Solorite exclaimed at the same time without realizing it, and began talking at the same time about what a horrible idea it was. Together, with them saying completely different things, none of them could make out a word.

"Enough!" Elvina finally exclaimed, "Sara, Solorite, and Rio can go to Cobalt Strip if they have to! Foam will be fine; he can wait to be healed…"

"Are you all done bickering?" Tabitha asked venomously, "If you are, whoever is coming with me, let's go!"

It turned out that everyone _but _Sara, Solorite, and Rio were coming with her. The Team Magma base in Elemental Ridge would be in the opposite direction as Cobalt Strip, so they all split and went in their separate directions.

**(Meanwhile…)**

"Did you hear that?" Sara whimpered, doing a full turn. Rio was taking her on a 'short cut' to Cobalt Strip, one that was foggy at the moment. She didn't appreciate that the wildlife found it amusing to make extra loud noises when something was passing by.

"_Quit being so nervy!" _Star growled from her normal perch on Sara's shoulder, _"There is nothing here to be scared of!"_

"I'm not so sure about that." Solorite pitched in, his head cocked forward and twitching slightly, "My danger sense is tingling."

"And I'm not surprised." Rio said with a scowl, "Dominus has been having… fun around here. It's hardly safe anymore."

There was a pause, in which Sara stopped moving completely and fixed both Rio and Solorite with a fierce glare, "You're saying that it's not safe here?" She asked quietly, not hinting at the outburst that was about to come out.

"Exactly."

"That's IT! We're going back and finding the rest of our friends before something scary comes out and bites us!"

"No we're not." Rio put a hand on her shoulder to stop her, and Star decided to have some fun with him. Taking flight, Star zoomed around his head in a way that could make anyone dizzy. Getting tired of that in a second or two, she brushed one of his Pokeballs out and released his Geodude.

"_Ahahaha!" _Star crooned when Rio swatted at her and tried to restrain his Geodude at the same time, _"Keep it up river boy!"_

"River?" Solorite repeated, sitting to show his neutral-ness in this fight.

"_Rio means river! River boy, river boy!" _Star began to sing, _"Can't catch me, because you're a river boy!"_

"Stop it!" Rio exclaimed, probably having the good sense to know that Star was making fun of him, by her jeering tone.

Sara glowered at her Pokemon, "Star." She growled, causing the Swellow to stop what she was doing and glance at her trainer, "Stop that now."

"_No sense of humor…" _Star mumbled as she dropped the Geodude's Pokeball on Rio's head. It bounced, and Geodude caught it again.

"Oh no you don't!" Rio said, diving for the ball. His Pokemon could be fast, as he avoided and began to bounce off. "No, no, no! No freedom for you, ever!" He snapped his fingers and suddenly the sky was pitch black with thunderclouds. Rain began to pelt the ground heavily, and the Geodude exclaimed before attempting to hide under his trainer's cape.

"How in the world did you do that?" Sara asked as he snapped his fingers, causing the sky to clear again.

A blush passed over Rio's cheeks, "That storm came from the Hoenn region. Dominus kinda gave me the ability to move certain things from one place to another. I can make it sunny, dark as night, rain, all that jazz." He paused, looking up at the sky, "And that's not me making it rain right now."

Sara looked up as well, "Then who is it?" She shivered, but not from the cold. A growing fear was welling up inside of her, one she'd only experienced when Dominus was close to her. "Did you see that?" She asked, panicked, as an icy wave when over her shoulder blades.

Rio nodded grimly, "I did. But you don't what to know…" He broke off and jumped to one side just in time to avoid a tall creature slamming his clawed hand down where Rio had been. Shaggy black fur covered his body, brown rags that could have once counted as clothes covering part of his chest and all of his middle. Red eyes, scarlet without seeable pupils, glared at his prey.

The monster raised his silver clawed paw and struck again at Rio, this time hitting his target and clawing across his chest. It didn't seem like a blow that could knock a person down, but Rio fell over, maybe to make the monster think he was dead. The wolf-like muzzle dropped to sniff Rio once before turning and disappearing. "He's fast." Rio croaked, getting up again.

A howl escaped into the now silent air, "We should have gone back!" Sara finally said, shaking from head to toe, "What was that thing?"

"A little mistake that turned out to be a good thing. Dominus accidentally added his DNA to that 'little' creature, and created him." Rio murmured without looking up, "I'll be fine, by the way. He only scratched me."

Sara's eyes grew wider, "So that thing is basically another Dominus?"

"Yup, didn't you notice the family resemblance?" Sara snorted with laughter at that, "Dominus could rip us to shreds, that thing's no different."

"But he's stupid. We have little to worry about if we tip-toe away." Solorite said.

"True, he's very stupid. But what do we call him?"

"Well…" Rio chuckled, "Dominus named him Catastrofate. He thought it was a good name!"

"Not good at names, I guess?"

"Not really." Another howl came from the woods as Catastrofate appeared again, just to dart away when Rio took off his backpack and shook it at him. "Fire would work better…"

Solorite seemed to get an interesting look on his face as he blew out a flame for Rio. "That work?" He asked cheekily.

He was on his way back again; Catastrofate looked agitated as he raised his claws to strike again. This time, the blow was aimed in a fatal way, without much time to avoid it. Sara realized that things like this really did seem to move in slow motion, as the claws were a foot from their target, three inches… bam!

Catastrofate roared in pain and shot backwards, grasping his now burnt paw and whimpering. "That'll teach 'em!" Exclaimed a familiar voice. Sara looked down at Solorite, to see that he was not the one who had attacked the creature.

The creature let out one last howl before turning tail and fleeing for his life. The clip-clop of hooves hitting ground when after him. "Alkie!" Sara finally exclaimed, to a groan from Star who had so far remained silent. The desert goddess turned her head and snorted hot breath in the girl's direction.

"Umm, no comment." Rio said with a friendly wave at Sara before falling silent.

"Sara! Good to see you again!" The voice, belonging to Jacob, came from atop the fire horse's back. He steered her over to Sara's side, where he grinned down at her, "We came when we saw Nekroquaza…"

"Did he hurt you?" Sara blurted, standing on her tip-toes to see Jacob. Surprising, he was laughing at her.

"T.V. is such a wonderful thing, don't you think? Nooo, we saw Solorite hanging on for his life and decided to check to see if he was alright. None of us thought you would be here… except maybe her." Jacob pointed to Alkie's neck, which Sara had been ignoring until then. Perching there, looking quite content, was Sundav.

"Sundav!" Sara exclaimed, "You finally show up again!" She snatched the light bird from Alkie's neck, she felt surprisingly solid, and perched her on her unoccupied shoulder. Star let out a feeble squawk of complaint at that, but did no more.

"_Transportation problems." _Sundav replied, _"Sorry 'bout that." _She nuzzled Sara's cheek, causing a surge of happy feelings, before flapping down to be beside Solorite. They began murmuring together, nodding every once and a while at Sara before talking even faster.

"Huh, I though you were traveling with friends?" Jacob said, getting her attention again, "What happened to them?"

"We split up, because I want to get to Cobalt Strip to heal my Pokemon, and because they want to go to… somewhere else." Sara replied.

"_Will there be more of them?" _Sundav's tone was serious. _"Dominus could do great damage with creatures like that."_

"Soon there will be… once Dominus gets his cloning machine, that is. He's getting it off the Black Market by the way, from some rich guy…" Rio responded with a sigh, "And then Dominus will create an army of them."

"_Well, we just have to stop him from getting it, correct? Just give us the information, and we might be able to stop the machine before it reaches Dominus." _

"That's the hard part, it's being shipped up here at an irregular pattern, and Dominus gave instructions that he didn't care how long it took, as long as the person got it to him sooner or later. He didn't care then, because there was no threat on his power."

"So there is now?" Sara asked obliviously.

"_Didn't you listen? Yes, the threat is here, now. Sara, there is something you need to see." _Sundav beckoned to her with one wing, _"Touch my forehead." _She ordered.

Sara, looking as confused as she felt, did as she was told and felt a rush of warmth, like a wave of temperate water rushing past and through her. She wasn't in Dark End Path anymore, nor touching Sundav. The surrounding area had no features, it was blank and empty. Yet, the rushing of warm, kind feelings continued to flow, and the white blankness soon turned to full color once again.

She was overlooking a plain with shrubs and undergrowth the colors of fire itself. The Fire Plains never looked so different though, it was covered with tiny dots that were Pokemon. _"They look to you… Lady Sara…" _Sundav's voice was oddly far away, and echoed over the overall emptiness of the sky in which Sara seemed to be suspended in.

The view of the Fire Plains got better as Sara lightly fell, as if a feather instead of a human, down to Earth. Thousands, millions, of Pokemon stood or sat there, all looking either content or anxious. None of them noticed her standing three feet from them, and didn't even flinch when she touched them. It was like she was a ghost, her body feeling and looking real to her, yet it not being the same way for living things.

"Why?" Sara yelled up at the sky, seeking an answer. "Why me? Why now?"

"_The Pokemon know. I know. You are the one to provide the turn we need to balance the forces of darkness and light. You, Lady Sara, are our only true hope in these times. As is written in stone… not every human is as good as her offspring…"_

With a jolt, Sara returned to Dark End Path, to curious eyes from all but Sundav. The light bird coughed hard and for a long while, in which Sara turned stunned eyes to Jacob and Rio. "You look like you've seen a ghost." Rio murmured, "Care to talk?"

"I saw Pokemon…" Sara said, in a voice that she soon realized sounded nothing like her own, "Pokemon, all wanting to follow. I could sense the feelings coming from them… they wanted to be free…"

"You're speaking nonsense." Jacob interrupted with a grin, "Pokemon are free, at least ones that are still wild. It does not matter now, besides, we need to get going again!"

"And where exactly are we going?" Solorite asked quietly.

"We're going to find Sara's friends! After we get her Pokemon healed…" Jacob jumped back onto Alkie's back and beckoned to Sara. After a pause, she touched Alkie's fiery back and realized that it wasn't hot. "She doesn't bite Sara." He continued teasingly.

Carefully, Sara clambered ungracefully onto Alkie, and they were ready to go. _"We shall just stay here." _Sundav said when Alkie started off at a walk, _"There are some things that I would like to talk to Rio about…"_


	21. For the Love of Squee!

Now, I have to thank Digital Skitty, for not only telling me how to make page breaks, but letting me borrow the name 'Squee' from her. You rock Skitty! (And since I love kittens, my version of Squee is going to be a kitten too…)

**Chapter 21**

"'Night Jacob…" Sara murmured, tucking into her sleeping bag with three warm furry or feathered creatures cuddled next to her. It was love at first sight when she'd let Karen out of her Pokeball, after she'd been healed. Like they were bonded for life, true love that could never be broken, through good times and bad.

The next morning, the two of them were in for a surprise, "Hey, what's that?" Jacob asked, pointing to a little cloud outside of the Pokemon Center. Sara shrugged, she had no clue either. The boy grabbed her arm and tugged her out and to the cloud. Alkie and Sandsinger followed, the Flygon carrying everyone else but Star, who was perched on her trainer's head.

"Cara, use Flamethrower!" A dark purple-haired lady ordered her Pokemon, pointing skywards where a Fearow was flying lazy circles around. Her Pokemon nodded at the command and shot a fiery blast at the bird. 'Cara' was a majestic, lion-like Pokemon with an incredibly powerful build. Golden-brown fur that was long and beautiful covered this Pokemon. But the interesting part about her was the flames that burned a pinkish-orange that made up her mane and tail tip. A fire type, by the looks of her.

"**Carakel, the fire lion Pokemon." **Jacob's Pokedex droned. The workers at the Pokemon Center couldn't fix Sara's, so they were stuck using his. **"Carakel own a large territory and will attack with teeth, claws, and flames if it is intruded."**

"Cool." Sara murmured. The Fearow was hit by the Flamethrower and knocked out of the sky, in which the Carakel rammed her head into his stomach and sent him sprawling on the ground in a faint.

"Alright Cara!" The purple-haired lady exclaimed when Cara turned and paced back to her trainer, rubbing against her like a house-cat would. The small glasses she was wearing slipped down her nose some as she bent carefully, because she was wearing a skirt, and stroked her Pokemon.

The other trainer recalled his Pokemon and, turning with a huff, left. The growing crowd parted for him as he left, all gaping in awe at the Carakel and her trainer. Sara caught one man whispering to another, "…So hard to get to obey! That trainer actually has a tame one…"

"_I don't see what the big deal is." _Star finally said with a nip on her trainer's ear to get attention, _"It's just an overgrown cat that has a little fire."_

"_Carakel are hard to train, Star, that's why we're all staring." _Althea stated, letting out a puff of flames, _"Not me, of course, because I've seen them before."_

Finally, the onlookers got tired of staring, and began to part ranks and leave. That left Sara and Jacob standing there with the purple-haired trainer and her loyal Carakel. "That's a nice Pokemon." Sara finally blurted awkwardly.

They finally got the trainer's attention, "Thanks." She stated quickly, "It took a while to train her, you know." She approached them with a slight smirk on her face, "Many people stare when they see Cara being as tame as an Espeon-" Karen let out a huff and stated that she was not tame what-so-ever. "-but they don't understand. Huh, don't you get stares too, girl?"

"Sara, and no, not really…" She responded, still a bit awkward.

"Well, I'd say that your Swellow should get stared at, but that's my opinion."

"_Finally someone with a little common sense!" _Star chirped, fluffing her feathers and taking in the compliment.

"Swellow are normally impossible to get to behave." The purple-haired trainer finished, "That is, if you don't know what you're doing. How did you get your Swellow, Sara?"

"She was my first Pokemon." Sara responded, obliviously reaching out and stroking her Swellow, "As a Taillow."

"Exactly!" Came the response, "You trained her from her unevolved form. This means that she got to know her before she evolved. Most Swellow are captured as… well, Swellow. They didn't get to know their trainer before then, and they're unruly because of that. There are exceptions, of course…"

"_I like Sara." _Star responded, her bubble deflating a bit, _"There's nothing wrong with that."_

Cara purred something to the Swellow, causing her to chirp defensively. _"I am not!" _She retorted.

"_The Carakel said that Star is too defensive about things like this." _Karen translated, looking up from the washing of her paw. Sara thought she looked absolutely adorable in that pose.

"So that's why your Carakel is so tame?" Jacob asked, breaking his silence. The purple-haired trainer nodded, "Well, it makes sense after all. Carakel are evolved, right?"

"Yes, they are." The lady held out her hand, "May I see your Pokedex? I'll show you the unevolved form…"

"Sure, uh, lady." Jacob handed it to her awkwardly.

"Please, call me Autumn." She responded, clicking on the buttons in the Pokedex for a while before returning it to Jacob, "That's it."

Sara was taken by surprise when the boy let out a cry that sounded a lot like an 'Awww!' and looked over his shoulder at one of the cutest Pokemon she'd ever seen. A round puff-ball of cream fur in a sitting position, the Pokemon was looking at them with rounded sapphire eyes. "Adorable!" She cried, attempting to wrestle the Pokedex from Jacob, but he held it.

"That's a Squee." Autumn said, "But they have pink flames for a little collar, you can't see them from that picture and a little tuft of tail flame as well. Baby Carakel, I had to fight Cara's mother to get her."

"That sounds painful…" Jacob stated, pocketing his Pokedex again.

"'Twas painful, indeed." She nodded, "Well, you can find Squee everywhere right about now, with their moms, of course. I'd suggest you look around Forest Path for one, yet if you burn easily, I'd tell you to stay away from them." Autumn chuckled, "So long friends!" She waved and left them to stare after her and her Carakel.

"I don't like the look you have." Jacob said, turning to Sara.

"I'm going to catch a Squee." She responded in a star-struck tone, "If it's the last thing I do. Come on Jacob! I'll fly on Sandsinger!"

"_Wait a minute…" _The Flygon began to argue, but stopped when the fire in her trainer's eyes was visible. _"Oh, alright, but please don't pull on my neck again. It was painful."_

"_That was Drake; Sara only flew on your back once." _Star grumbled, _"I had to carry her last time, remember?"_

"_Whatever. Someone hurt my neck when they were flying on my back." _Sandsinger sighed when Sara eagerly jumped on her back, _"Ready?"_

"_Ready!" _Althea responded, curling up in front of Sara, with Karen right next to her. Jacob opened her mouth to argue some more, but Sandsinger took off and left him behind.

"Looks like we're going to have to follow…" He murmured to Alkie as he got on her back and they sped off after her.

* * *

"You imbeciles didn't get Althea?" Dominus's voice was calm, but it oozed hatred and his annoyance at the two cowering figures of Adam and Famulus.

"No sir… but-"

"I haven't the time for this!" He slammed his fists down on the stone throne's arms, causing them to break clean off, "You two… you're chances are slimming!"

"B-but, they had a Dewgong-" Famulus started, but was cut off again.

"And you? Did you not have your Aerodactyl?" The icy blue eyes were narrowing, "Wasn't he enough to take down a stupid Dewgong?"

"A-actually sir, it w-was a Seel when it k-knock out the Aerodactyl…" Adam corrected, hoping to shift the blame off of him. No such luck.

"So your Pokemon was stuck with a Dewgong and an Espeon-that was ready to faint I might add-and you lost still! My word, you two are hopeless!"

"B-but it did a Sheer Cold attack… y-you know what that a-attack does." Adam stammered.

"Indeed." Dominus then fell silent, different punishments flowing through his mind. Finally, one came to him, "You two have one more chance." He finally said, pursing he lips in an evil thought as the two men appeared to have their spirits rising, "But you're not after Althea anymore." He cackled happily at their look, "That Vulpix may have powers, but that doesn't matter anymore! You're after a much bigger target… and if you fail this time, it is curtains for the two of you. _Permanently._"

They both swallowed, "W-who do you want, sir?" Famulus finally had the nerve to ask.

Another cackle of laughter from Dominus, "I want the girl's Espeon. The one they call, Karen. You two need more Pokemon than just two for this job, so take others if you have to."

"Can we have the new one?"

"Which?" Dominus raised an eyebrow, "We have many coming in now, with the summoned Pokemon starting to arrive." He was right, of course, many Pokemon, not just dark-types, all the ones with evil hearts and intentions, were arriving.

"The one you got yourself." Famulus didn't look up, didn't want to meet his master's eyes, "The one you call… Rikeren."

"Ahhh, Rikeren." A pause as he thought, "Fine. Take him, and any others you may need. _Now get out of my sight you sniveling wimps!_"

* * *

"Where are all the Squee today?" Sara asked as she looked under a leaf, to no avail. "We haven't seen any." 

"Hmmm, let me see." Jacob had long since lost his patience with Sara, their trip had taken them to the Fire Plains, but they hadn't seen any Squee. And the sun was going down too, not a good thing for them. "Maybe they don't live here!"

"_Oooohh, I'm so scared of angry Jacob!" _Star twittered sarcastically.

"Maybe not." Sara responded, still looking, "But I think I saw one a while ago…"

"That was a Meowth." Jacob sniffed, "Look Sara, let's stop for tonight. Autumn said that Squee live around Forest Path…"

"Do Squee live around Forest Path?" Sara echoed the question to Althea, who had lived there for who knows how long.

"_Yes, of course they do." _She responded, _"I had a friend that was a Squee once." _

"Then you know what they smell like!" Sara grabbed her Vulpix and thrust her in the lead, startling her, "Go on, go find one!"

"_Uh, Sara…" _Karen murmured, _"I don't think she'd be able to find a Squee-"_

"_I'll find a Squee if it's the last thing I do, thank-you-very-much!" _Althea snapped as she turned and walked forward, head bent down to sniff at the ground.

"_You'd think those two are sisters." _Star remarked with a chirp.

"Speaking of family, Althea, where did your father go?" Sara finally realized that Solorite hadn't been with them since yesterday.

"_He told me he was going to go back to Sundav and Rio last night. He didn't come back, so I guess he's waiting with them for you to get there."_

Alkie translated for Jacob, making him gasp in anger, "We should get back there then! Sara, they're waiting for us, and all you can think about is catching a Squee?"

"Yup. They probably don't miss me."

"_That's wrong." _Sundav stated as she appeared next to Karen, looking up at her with narrowed green eyes, _"What are you doing way out here? We've been waiting for you all day!"_

"Looking for Squee." Sara responded with a shrug, "Like one day will make a difference…"

"_Squee?" _Sundav repeated, _"And you're wrong still, Lady, things can happen in a day, you know that. Day by day, mortals build their lives off the important and moral things in their lives… a day has its purpose. Besides, humans don't see many days in comparison to as many I've seen."_

"Huh." Sara really didn't have anything to say to that, so she went on with another topic of conversation, "Squee are cute kittens that can breathe fire and we're trying to find one…"

"_There aren't any here though, or at least that's what Jacob says." _Star continued for her.

"_You're out here searching for fire-breathing kittens? You've got to be kidding me!" _Sundav ruffled her feathers, creating a show of light, _"Lady, you can search for kittens later or at least with some protection!"_

"When would later be? Hey Althea, have you found a trail yet?"

"_Nope. There aren't any here as far as I can tell…"_

"_Later when you have time. Now are you going to just stand here looking for fire-breathing kittens?"_

"Yup." Sara responded stubbornly, "That's exactly what I'm going to do."

"_Huh, humans can be so thick-headed sometimes. Look, would you feel better if I just turned into whatever you're looking for and we head off for the others now? After we're done with Team Magma, we can go search for a real one."_

"It's not the same though." Sara responded with a sniff.

"_Where did you say these Pokemon were again?" _Sundav finally blurted to whoever could answer.

"Forest Path." Jacob responded quickly.

"_Right, Forest Path…" _Sundav pressed her beak to Sara's shin, and the rushing of wind hit Sara's ears once again. The next second they were standing under the darkening sky with long shadows of the trees everywhere. Sara's only Pokemon that came with her was Star. _"Find your kitten and let's go." _Sundav growled with impatience.

"Right… but where would one be?"

"_Try looking down." _Star murmured sarcastically, looking down herself at a couple of puff-balls rolling around. She flinched when Sara cooed and snatched one up. _"Uh… Sara…"_

But she didn't have time to warn her trainer. The Squee Sara had picked up cried at the top of her lungs for mommy, and the responding roar said that mommy had come. "Oh, no…" Sara squeaked when the mother Carakel jumped out of a bush and roared again at the human that _dared _touch her little one.

"_Run!" _Star exclaimed, digging her talons into her trainer's shoulder. Sara didn't need told twice; she turned with the Squee in hand and fled for her life.

Sundav watched the two of them run and shook her head, finally letting out a squawking laugh as the other Squee pounced on her back. _"You're a playful one." _She stated, nuzzling the male Squee as he found pulling out feathers was fun. Sundav grew a bit, so she was about five times the size of the one-foot tall Squee, and took off in flight after Sara.

She and the little Squee found Sara and her Swellow up a tree, looking down on the mother Carakel, who had begun to pace around the bottom of the tree. Her kitten mimicked her at her mother's side, having been freed when she bit down on Sara's hand too hard.

"_Amusing, isn't it?" _Sundav asked, turning a glimmering eye to her own Squee, _"I can understand why she wants one of you now." _She let out another squawking laugh and grew a bit more, so that she was about the size of the mother Carakel, who was easily six feet tall on her hind legs.

"_The human is mine." _She said in a squawking voice, _"Leave her, you've got your kitten. She means you no more harm." _The mother Carakel turned and had another flash of anger at the sight of her other kitten on the back of some bird. But that was when she saw which bird it was, and backed away quickly, disappearing into the underbrush with her single kitten not far behind.

"That was awesome Sundav!" Sara exclaimed as she landed on the ground again, "Now, can I have that Squee…?"

Sundav chortled when she realized she had a bargaining chip now, _"Not until we return to your poor other Pokemon and that upset boy, Jacob. Then we're going to return to Rio and Solorite, and THEN you'll get your Squee."_

With a sigh, Sara agreed, "Alright…" She murmured, allowing Sundav to teleport them back to Jacob, Alkie, and her Pokemon. "We're back guys!" She exclaimed, grinning, "With Squee in tow!"

"_Sundav caught it." _Star chirped, which caused Jacob to laugh when it was translated to him.

Sara returned Sandsinger, Karen, and Althea to well-deserved rests before Sundav took them back to Dark End Path, where a very worried looking Rio was waiting on a tree-stump with Solorite pacing around.

"Hi guys!" Sara exclaimed, like she hadn't been doing anything wrong, "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing. We've just been worried sick about you." The Absol responded calmly, in a conversational tone. Then, surprisingly, he began to berate her, "Why in the world did you run off like that? You could have been hurt! You could have been killed for all I know!"

"Sorry." Sara murmured, looking down at the green and purple undergrowth at her feet, "But I got a new friend."

"The Squee?" Rio asked, peering at the cream bundle on Sundav's back, "It's cute."

"_It's a he river boy." _Star jibed, and her trainer groaned.

"Not that again, please Star!" She exclaimed, "We need to catch the Squee now anyways." She pulled out a Pokeball from her pocket, because she hadn't gotten a backpack yet, and tossed it at the Squee.

The Pokeball hit Sundav instead of the male Squee, and she disappeared into the ball for a second, before it began to rock like mad. Sparks flew from the Pokeball as it exploded, leaving Sundav where she was standing again. "Wow." Was all that Sara could say as she stared at the light bird, "I take it you can't be captured?"

Sundav waited for the dust to settle before replying, _"No, with my kind, we may only be captured when we want to be captured. So that is why I wasn't captured."_

The male Squee was bounding away, the collar of pink flames and tiny tail flame alight. "Well, Star I think you need exercise. Tackle him!" Sara finally said, choosing to keep this little bit of information in the back of her head for the moment.

"_Now you're talking!" _The Swellow cried as she took flight and dove right at the Squee. She missed by a foot from her target. _"He's fast!" _She grumbled, pecking at the kitten that was now close to her. He dodged her attack and let out a scorching pink flame that scorched her chest feathers.

Star squawked in fury as she slapped the kitten across the head with her wings. He wobbled a bit before recovering and jumping. The Squee landed on Star's back and clamped down, _hard_.

Sara watched her Swellow do crazy maneuvers to try and shake the Squee, but he held on tightly. She finally did a barrel roll that sent the kitten falling down at an alarming rate. "Finish him!" Sara yelled up to her Pokemon, "Slam him to the ground!"

Star replied with a squawk as she snatched the Squee up in her talons and went in a dive while still holding him. At one foot, she snapped her wings open and released her burden, which fell to the ground and lay there, fainted. Finally, Sara took out her last Pokeball and hurled it at the Squee.

For a couple of heart-pounding seconds, it seemed he was going to break out again and fight Star some more, by the way the ball kept rocking past the normal three rocks. But the ball finally fell silent and returned to Sara's shaking hand with a click. "Well done." Rio said, "Especially on the Squee's part."

"_Be quiet river boy…" _Star growled, making a threatening pose on her trainer's shoulder. Sara popped her new Squee's Pokeball into her Translator and waited for it to translate him, while telling Star what a good job she did. Only then did Sara notice that the sun had gone down completely and the only light to see by was coming from the stars and very bright full moon.

Finally, the Squee was translated, and Sara let him out again. He looked around, puzzled for a second, before spotting Star and pouncing on his paws in a belligerent way, _"Come on, I can take you big bird!"_ He cried, voice slightly squeaky and not very intimidating. The Squee was puffed up, and looked serious.

"_Watch it, small fry; I eat bigger things for lunch!" _Star grumbled, not making a move to jump off Sara's shoulder and back into battle.

"_You do not!" _He exclaimed, but stopped trying to challenge Star. He found it was more interesting to paw at Solorite, who had fallen asleep. Sara watched nervously as he finally flamed the Absol's tail, causing him to yelp.

"What in the heavens?" He blurted, looking around, then _down_. "What do you want?"

"_Play?" _Squee asked sweetly, pawing at Solorite and finally rolling over to show the cream fur on his belly. The Absol sighed and gently tickled the kitten's belly for a moment, his eyes shining lightly.

And that was when the Squee pounced on top of him. Purring, Squee ruffled the Absol's back fur, causing him to appear very annoyed. "I feel young again, little one. Now please stop so this old geezer can get some rest." Solorite shook the playful kitten off his back and, with a sigh, settled back down and fell asleep again. This time, Althea joined in next to him, keeping one eye open and locked on the Squee.

Giving up on the very grumpy Absol, the Squee bounced back over to Sara and found her shoe laces very interesting and even more so after he figured out how to untie them. Through all of this, all the Pokemon and humans had been watching him, excepting Althea, Sandsinger, and Solorite, who all fell asleep and were snoring slightly.

Sara finally picked up the 'wild-cat' that was gnawing her shoelaces off with sharp teeth and his tiny, half-grown claws. _"We should be getting to sleep now, don't you think?" _Sundav suggested aloud.

"_Nooo! I want to play some more!" _The Squee went after Sara's fingers, in full play-mode. His flames had turned themselves off after Solorite shook him off, so he wasn't burning anything down now.

"Isn't he cute?" Sara exclaimed, cuddling the Squee and receiving a sharp bite. "Ow!"

"_We don't even know his name yet." _Karen remarked, curling her body around Sara's feet and half-chewed shoelaces.

"_He hasn't corrected us when we've called him Squee, so he must be Squee." _Sundav murmured, but the Squee shook his head.

"_Meep." _He said instead.

"Huh? The Squee-"

"_Meep!" _The Squee exclaimed louder.

"He's saying meep…" Sara murmured, confused.

"_Meep!" _He kept saying, then finally Sundav figured it out.

"_His name is Meep." _She said calmly, _"That is what he wishes to be called."_

"Awww, what a cute name! Meep the Squee, it has a ring to it!" Sara hugged her kitten and laughed. "We should be going to bed now."

"I agree with that!" Rio exclaimed, "Good night then."

"Good night." Jacob, who had also not talked at all, but made cooing sounds, said. Following Solorite's example, all but Meep fell asleep almost immediately.

If Star thought that one night stuck in a Pokemon Center with Mellow was bad; it was nothing compared to getting a furry thing jump on your back in the middle of the night!


	22. Magma Meeting

**Chapter 22**

"_That thing's a little terrorist!" _The first thing out of Star's beak was that. She had retreated to Sara's shoulder as soon as her trainer got up in the morning, Meep pawing at her leg.

"How could you say that Star? Meep's adorable!" Sara bent to pick the little kitten up, and her Swellow flew up into a tree. "Oh, come on now Star! Stop that!"

"_Star, maybe you should play with him." _Sandsinger said with a yawn, _"He's cute."_

"_But he's not!" _Star squawked in reply, _"He's just making you all think that! It's part of his master plan to turn us all into his loyal servants! Don't you all see? Meep's trying to take over us first and then what's going to be next? The world, that's what!"_

Sara just shook her head, "Star, go back to sleep." She replied with a laugh, "You didn't get much of that, did you?"

"_No." _Her Swellow replied with a huff, _"I guess you're right."_ She jumped from her tree and rested on the top of Sara's head. In moments she was whistling peacefully.

Sundav sighed loudly, _"Are we ready to teleport to where your friends are?"_

"Do you know where they are?" Rio asked, "It wouldn't seem likely…"

"_Of course I know where they are!" _Sundav snapped, _"So are we ready or what?"_

Recalling all their Pokemon, except Alkie, who wouldn't return to her Pokeball, the three trainers nodded. Alkie, Solorite, Jacob, Rio, and Sara all clustered around the light bird as she gathered her strength and sent them towards the Team Magma base in Elemental Ridge.

I didn't seem that they were expected, from the startled looks the group was given when they nearly reappeared on top of their friends. "Uh, hi?" Drake finally said when they got up, for the teleportation had dropped them all in a messy pile, "What's up?"

Sundav, out of the corner of Sara's eye, collapsed with exhaustion, her colorful feathers turned pale. "Hi all! We decided to drop in!" She exclaimed brightly.

"Literally." Rio added. He stepped back when Sara released her Swellow from her Pokeball. Star was still asleep, and she was quickly deposited on top of Sara's head again.

"We would have been here sooner." Jacob added, grinning, "But Sara got it into her head to catch a Pokemon, and we couldn't come until she did."

"Oh, Jacob, you're here too?" Elvina said, blinking at him, then Alkie, and down to Sundav, "So Rika was right… well, you three are here now, and the rest doesn't matter. But Sara, what Pokemon did you catch, since you couldn't have come without it?"

Sara fumbled around her pocket looking for Meep's Pokeball, muttering something about getting another backpack. She finally released the kitten, where he yawned and stretched before turning his wide sapphire eyes on his new 'friends'. Even Tabitha had twinkling eyes, but she didn't let them show, for she turned away and back to the men and women in Team Magma uniforms and told them to get back to work.

Inside the Magma Base was very hot, maybe it was built to be that way. Red tiles decorated the floor, while most of the machines littering the space had been painted red as well. It appeared they were in some sort of kitchen, by the looks of things.

Meep was playing around with Elvina's long hair as he bent down to pet him and it came falling down to where he could get it. Star finally woke up, and decided to pester Drake today. (She didn't know how he got to Dark End Path, or why it looked so red, but she was happy to see him.)

"What does she want?" Drake finally asked, dazed as the Swellow began to pluck curly brown hairs from his head.

"_Mellow, I want him. Let that Swellow-boy out, I miss him!" _Sara couldn't believe her ears. Could Meep really have terrorized her that much, that Mellow was a good alternative?

"She wants you to let Mellow out. Don't ask me why, I don't really know myself." She replied, watching _Star_ pounce on _Mellow _as soon as he was released.

He looked very happy for the female attention, and began to sing for his Star. And that was when she slapped her wing across his head, _"You haven't changed a bit!" _She cried as she got off Mellow's back and returned to Sara's head, just to have him follow.

"Tabitha!" A strict voice snapped as a very strict-looking man stepped into the crowded room, "What is the meaning of all this?"

"Mister Maxie, sir!" Tabitha and a number of other Magmas that were standing around shot into a rigid pose and saluted the man, "I am here, and have brought friends!"

"You have a lot of friends." Maxie drawled.

"Yes, sir." She nodded and grinned, "I do, sir. Besides, there is someone you should meet." Tabitha waved to Sara, who was covered with Swellow at the moment, but stepped up anyways, "This is the Lady of the Day, Sara, that you've been told about."

Maxie paused for a moment, looking Sara over with a strange look on his face, "She'll do, I guess. But girl, do you have a thing for Swellow?"

"Yes-uh, I mean no! This one's not mine!" Sara plucked Mellow off her shoulder and blindly handed him to Drake, "This one is." She stroked Star, who chirruped her agreement.

"So this one may stay, at least." Maxie nodded slightly, "And the rest…?"

"They all can stay, sir!" Tabitha replied, but her leader's face grew tighter. It looked like he was going to kick everyone but Sara out, when Meep mewed loudly and tackled the Team Magma leader's legs and began to purr.

"_He doesn't have any shoe laces!" _He cried, but pawed at Maxie's shoes anyway. Sara was frozen in horror, what would Maxie do?

But, surprisingly, he laughed, "Whose Squee?" Maxie asked, picking Meep up and holding him with one arm.

Meep purred and nipped at his fingers, which didn't even make Maxie flinch, "Mine, sir." Sara replied, hoping the 'sir' would smooth things down some.

"Playful little guy." The Team Magma leader's face broke out in a rare smile, "Mind if I hold him for a while?" She nodded, stunned, "Good. Now, follow me, this is no place to have a meeting."

Meep purring, Maxie turned around and led them through a maze-like structure of warp panels and stairs. Finally, they got to an office that seemed to be Maxie's, and sat down in the chairs arraigned around a large, wooden table.

"Now then," Maxie started, holding Meep, but still looking tight-faced and serious at the same time, "Pay attention to the screen, would you all?"

The blank, flat-screen television behind him flashed on, and the respective lights around dimmed. Like a movie, but not exactly. "Like you've reported, Tabitha, there is rain appearing everywhere in the close vicinity of the where Kyogre was summoned." The television flickered on, and the same place that they had all been before flashed on in color. Muddy puddles had formed, and were being hammered by heavy raindrops that gave no indication of stopping.

"Kyogre's storm is spreading faster than we thought though." Maxie tapped the television with his free hand, and the map of Elemental Ridge appeared. Over the sea in which Kyogre was summoned, and inching forward closer to the Magma symbol that was this base, a huge storm was moving and getting bigger as they watched. Twilight Town looked to be very close to the base in which they were at, but Sara wasn't quite sure.

"And yet I have good news as well." With a wave of his hand, the television cut off and the lighting turned back to normal, "At the other Magma base in Hoenn, we've found a secret cave that we're drilling into more." He sighed and stroked Meep some more, looking tense, "We think we've found something that can battle Kyogre. And that would be Groudon, the one who made the continents themselves."

"_Beware!" _Sundav gasped. She had been carried with them, and was panting furiously, _"The continent maker must not be summoned! Death, destruction, no! My brother has tolerated one of the two Earth-makers to rise, but he will not take kindly to another! Do not do this!" _She had to stop; her body was racked by hacking-coughs.

Sara flushed and turned her gaze to Maxie, "I think she's right. Didn't the two Earth-makers go at it once and destroy everything in the process? Besides, at Dominus's command, Kyogre would be unbeatable, even if we do get Groudon on our side. …Because, if you look at a globe of the Earth, doesn't it seem that Groudon lost the first time?"

"Kyogre is at nobody's command." Rio added quietly, "And Groudon would be the same way. There is no real way to control either of them, their powers are too great."

"So what do you suggest we do then?" Maxie snapped, "Sit around and wait for Kyogre to send the whole world in complete darkness because of rain? I don't think so! We are going to summon Groudon, that's in order! And if we upset your brother, more power to him, Sundav." His eyes came to rest on the very exhausted form of the light bird.

She lifted her gaze to meet his eyes, _"You are making a grave mistake…" _She murmured, _"My brother is already very angry at Dominus for disturbing the natural balance of the world. Do not tempt him to come after you, because you would stand no chance against him."_

"Says you." Maxie sniffed, "I am not afraid of your brother as a title. If you would tell me what he is, I may change my mind."

"_I mustn't. It is a vow I have sworn to take. If I would tell you of him, he would surely know it. Let us let this subject drop," _Sundav had to pause for her coughing was too much at the moment. _"It takes a lot to disturb the sleep of any one of the legendary Pokemon. Kyogre wouldn't have awoken to many, it is the same way with Groudon. Only if you get something in the way of… no, I shall not tell you. You will not awaken Groudon. I will stop you if you try." _Her voice was firm and gave no weakness away.

"I do not doubt you, great Sundav, but it is foolish to think that there is any other way of stopping Kyogre. We have no Master Ball to catch Kyogre with, besides, isn't it true that a legendary can never be captured if it does not want to be?"

"_That is correct." _Sundav nodded slightly. Sara remembered yesterday and slapped her head silently. _Sundav was a legendary! That's why that Pokeball exploded like that! _She thought to herself, smiling at the light bird. Now all she had to do was figure out which legendary she was…

"So there is no other choice. We must anger your brother and awaken Groudon." Maxie responded stubbornly, "Am I right? Can no other person here think of a different way?"

Muffled 'no's came from everyone, there was no other way in their minds. _"Fine, then." _Sundav spluttered, _"Do as you wish, mortal Maxie, I have warned you." _She fell silent and closed her eyes. In moments it seemed like she was sleeping.

"So, we need something to make Groudon awaken because none of us are powerful enough." Sara murmured, to nods, "But what?"

"I have a feeling I know what." Maxie set a purring Meep down on the wooden table, where he decided sliding around was fun. "Tabitha, we go to Hoenn ASAP."

The Magma admin nodded, "Okay, now who wants to come?" She looked around the table at the people there, "Come on, somebody must want to see this too!"

There was a pause, finally broken by Sara's voice, "I want to come." She murmured quietly.

Louder, Drake's voice, "If Sara's going, I'm coming as well."

"Well, you all know what I'm going to say then." Elvina added in with a smirk, "I'm coming."

"Me too!" Rio exclaimed.

They all stared at Jacob, who finally nodded, "Fine, I'll come too." He sighed. Then all eyes turned to Maxie and Tabitha once again.

"Good." The Team Magma leader finally murmured, "We leave by helicopter. Come, the take-off station is this way." He got up and went to a certain door and opened it, soon everyone else was following him.


	23. Strange Pocky Girl

The character Pocky is actually all Digital Skitty's, I did not create her, and I do not own her. Just for fun, I've added a couple of her characters from Reishine, there will be two more in the next chapter. Two more… and their Pokemon, let's say. Anyways, they're all used with permission, so don't say I'm plagiarizing or anything, please… o.o

Skitty, I'm glad you like it! xD Please tell me if I've gotten Pocky right…

MorriganFearn, I know, Fiendre didn't speak at all during the last chapter, they same as Solorite. He's still here! Thanks for your review, and hopefully I still have good quotes in here…

Right now, I can't get the edit/preview thing to work, so there won't be any page breaks… sorry about that!

**Chapter 23**

"_Are we there yet?" _Star asked for the fifteenth time today.

"No, Star, we're not there yet." Elvina answered with a sigh, "Stop asking."

"_Alright…" _Star huffed, _"Why is the terrorist with Maxie?"_

The 'terrorist' as Star called him was Meep, who was sitting like a lap-cat in Maxie's lap, purring and getting petted every once and a while. The Magma leader had contented himself to sit and stare out the window, maybe there was something out there that he was watching…

"Maxie likes him…" Sara whispered up to her Pokemon, who found her trainer's head was the best place to settle. She giggled slightly, "You'd think he'd have one himself by the way he's holding him…"

"_Maxie can have him." _Star responded snappily.

"Now, don't say that Star." Solorite had decided to curl up close to Sara's leg as the cramped helicopter flew quickly to their target, Hoenn. "You'll miss him, believe me."

"_I don't think so." _Star sniffed, _"I'd rather the pest left."_

The Houndoom known as Fiendre snorted and growled something to the Swellow, yet he seemed to smile. Sara felt rather than saw Star nodded every time he paused. "What's he saying?" She asked when Star finally chirped agreement.

"_Oh, nothing Sara." _Star responded stubbornly, _"You'll see…"_

"I don't like the sound of that." Sara looked over to Elvina, who had been standing next to her, "Elvina?"

"Oh," Elvina blinked, "No, it's no threat. Not really, at least, unless talks about food include a Squee sandwich."

"Food?" Sara asked her Swellow, "That's all he said?"

"_He didn't say anything about a Squee sandwich!" _Star ruffled her feathers in anger, _"We just had a conversation, that's all!"_

"Look!" Maxie pointed out the window and yelled over the noise of the helicopter, "We're here!"

"_Finally!" _Star squawked as most everyone looked to where he was pointing. A small, misty mountain was coming into view on the horizon, _"Wait, we're not there yet!" _

"Mount Pyre, the resting place of all Pokemon…" Maxie continued softly, "And there's an orb there waiting for us…"

"Wait a minute!" Drake exclaimed from behind Sara, it seemed a bit cramped back there, "You're not thinking of stealing one of the sacred orbs, are you?"

"I am. For the good of the world, I am." Maxie replied with a chuckle, "I want all of you to stay here, except maybe Tabitha could come… if I say Sara can, we'll all be going."

"Then let's all go!" Sara exclaimed, "It wouldn't do any harm…"

"On the contrary, it would do a lot of harm." Maxie replied sharply, "With all of us coming, they'd know we're here and hide the orbs! So, it's an order, only Tabitha and I am going."

**(Meanwhile…)**

"Pocky, Pocky, so good and lovely… Pocky, Pocky…" Sang a girl in the misty-ness of Mount Pyre. For all the gloom, she didn't seem to think it was bad. Her song drifted down on all the sad souls grieving over their lost Pokemon. Most call her crazy, the girl that loved Pocky so much that she'd want to be called that.

"_So delicious!" _Added her Wooper, who was serving as a back-up singer. Woop, her Wooper, wasn't wearing a costume today, there was not one yet for the Pocky song. Oh, but Pocky was making one! A replica of the delicious snack would be done very soon for her Pokemon.

Pocky only stopped her Pocky song when two people, a man and a women, walked by. They gave her a strange glance, in which she returned with violet-blue eyes.

Pocky's hair was chin-length and silver, excepting the bangs on the side, which grew out longer to her shoulders and was dyed dark purple. Her tank top was a pale pink; the skirt she wore was light blue. "Should we follow them?" She asked her Wooper, who ceased to bounce around to look up at her.

Woop blinked, _"Oodle Noodle!" _It finally exclaimed.

"We're singing the Pocky song now." She corrected, "Not the egg song."

Woop blinked before starting to bounce around again. Pocky sighed and picked up her things and her Wooper and following the pair of red-heads. Coming up behind them, she heard them talking about the sacred orbs… "The blue one is probably the one with the power." The man was saying, his tone strict and enforcing, "That's the one."

"And the other?" The lady asked.

"The other one we shall get as well; it would be a shame to leave something like that out so that Archie could get it." He responded, and with a thrill of surprise, Pocky realized they were talking of stealing the sacred orbs…

"Yes, sir." The other lady responded, nodding her defeat, "I understand."

They were coming up on a pair of old people, the lady was standing in the middle of two old rods of stone that had both orbs on them, her glasses small and eyes small and squinty. The elderly man, though, was in conversation with someone else that couldn't quite be seen at this angle. Yet, the red-headed man shouted something and broke into a run, being followed close behind by the other lady, and then Pocky as well.

The figure speaking to the old man turned slightly, a glint of icy blue for an eye stared right through them for a moment before doing an impossible maneuver in jumping and snatching both orbs at the same time. "Get back here!" The lady yelled at the top of her lungs, but the man just snickered and kept running until he was flashing past Pocky and down the mountain.

Pocky was swept aside as both the red-headed people turned on their heels and followed the raven-black haired man that had taken the orbs. When she followed again, they were standing on the edge of the slope downwards, cursing. The man that had taken the orbs was gone!

"He got them both!" The man cursed, yet he was looking at Pocky now, not the mountain. "Who are you anyways?"

"Errm, Pocky." She responded, taking out a stick of Pocky and chewing on it innocently, "My name's Pocky."

"I don't like Pocky. It tastes like old milk and stale biscuits." The lady interjected, "Really girl, what's you name?"

"Pocky is great!" She cried defensively, "It's the best thing since… well, anything! You've never really tried anything good until you've tried Pocky!"

"We're wasting time!" The man snapped, "Come, Tabitha, we've work to do!"

"Don't you think Pocky is great?" Pocky asked the man quickly, "You haven't said a word about it!"

"Ugh kid, there are so many other desserts better than Pocky." He responded.

The lady that was called Tabitha was looking at Pocky strangely, "She probably heard all of our conversation," She finally said to her companion, "Attack plan twenty?"

"That sounds good." He responded, looking over to Pocky and grinning, "Congrats kid, you're coming with us."

**(Meanwhile…)**

Tabitha and Maxie returned to the helicopter nearly empty-handed. 'Nearly' because of the person and Pokemon they had dragged with them. Her hair was strange, as was the choker around her neck. _"Who's that?" _Meep asked, his eyes shining slightly. _"A friend?" _The kitten added hopefully.

Maxie placed the girl in the seat in between his and Tabitha's, and got a kitten in his lap almost immediately. "She saw everything that happened, so we're taking her along until it's safe to release her."

"Wow, there's a lot of people here." The girl murmured, looking around at all of them, "Hey, do any of you like Pocky?"

"Ugh, not that again!" Tabitha groaned, "This kid says her name's Pocky."

"Come on, anyone?" She continued hopefully.

"Well, I've never had Pocky." Sara admitted, "Is it good?"

"Is it ever!" Pocky jumped up and handed Sara three stick of chocolate Pocky, "Try it friend, and enjoy the Pocky-ness!"

Star demanded a piece of Pocky when she heard Sara's muffled mumbling of 'It's good!' and got it finally. She squawked at Sara, _"This stuff's funny tasting!" _She chirped.

"It is not! Pocky is very good!" Pocky cried, getting surprised looks.

"Are you… perhaps a HAP?" Elvina finally asked.

"No, no, it's my necklace." Pocky flicked her choker, "I invented it. It translates Pokemon speech to me."

"_I agree." _Star grumbled when Fiendre opened one eye and snorted at the newcomer before curling up tighter and falling asleep.

"Anyone else?" Pocky asked, flashing more sticks of Pocky, "There's more to go around!" Everyone was silent for a while, and finally she sighed, "Why couldn't I have been kidnapped by a group of people who I can actually get along with!"

"Are you quite done?" Maxie finally snapped.

Pocky grumbled her yes and sat back down; looking like a storm cloud was looming over her head. Her Wooper exclaimed something and began a rolling dance in front of her, as to cheer her up.

"Alright, what happened?" Jacob prompted, "You don't have an orb, so something went wrong."

"_It is a good thing. At least now you will not upset the balance anymore." _Sundav murmured softly from her perch off to the side. Her feathers were still looking quite dull.

"Dominus got them before us. Both orbs are gone." Tabitha said with a sad huff, "Three days travel by helicopter down the drain-for nothing!"

Sara bit her lip; this wasn't a good thing at all. "So we won't be able to summon Groudon?" She asked.

Maxie nodded, his pale face twisted with fury, "But we've _got_ to try. Come now, let's get going to our Hoenn base, at least there we'll be able to try." He gave the signal to the small group of people who were manning the helicopter. One of them shut the doors to the helicopter while it started up, the wings beginning to make the normal heavy beating of sound.

Little did the now large group of people speeding towards the Hoenn Magma base know; they were about to meet two very unlikely friends.


	24. If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them

Rena, Devon, and all their Pokemon are all Digital Skitty's… I am not stealing them, just using them. Ahem, you rule Skitty-san!

Lily-san! xD I'm glad you like it! Thanks for your review, and I do believe you're right… Maxie needs a Squee. It really goes with the picture of strict training too! x)

Skitty-san, I'm very happy that you think I did Pocky alright… I was having problems getting her in character. Well, thanks again, and enjoy!

**Chapter 24**

"_Miss Rena, let us go home. I do not like this place." _The ice fighter known as Shard, which resembled the Pokemon Machop. It was no wonder that Shard, the Sukain, didn't like it here though. Mount Chimney was a hot place to be at, and normally ice types didn't like heat. But he was remaining faithful and staying out with his trainer, Rena, and her Combusken named Amber.

"Hold on Shard, we'll be gone in a little while." She responded quietly, "Hey is that Pocky!" Rena pointed wildly to the group of people that had exited the helicopter. Part of the reason they were there was because normally helicopters didn't dare get close to a volcano such as Mount Chimney.

"That is!" Her companion and stalker Devon exclaimed, "That is Pocky!"

The strange purple and silver haired girl was being escorted along beside two Team Magma leaders, who were in the lead. Her Wooper, Woop, was in the arms of a teen, which had blue hair. From their point on a ridge overlooking the scene, they couldn't see much of what was happening.

"You know what I'm going to say." Rena said with a grin, showing slightly pointed fangs, "We're going to follow them."

* * *

Mount Chimney was very, very hot inside. But that was not a coincidence, since there was lava flowing nearly everywhere. It was a perfect place for people like Maxie, who suffered from chills. 

"So, where do you think Groudon is in this big volcano?" Rio finally asked when they had gone into the third hallway that led to the very center of the volcano.

Elvina was having a very hard time holding onto Woop. The Wooper was very slippery, even if he was drying out from the heat. Pocky, on the other hand, wasn't giving them any trouble at all… it seemed she knew what was going to happen before it did. And something did happen; someone did come to her rescue. Two people, actually.

"Stop! Let Pocky go!" A girl cried from behind them. Whirling around, Sara saw that there was a girl, her hair past her shoulder and light blonde, and her eyes gray. She was wearing a regular, long sleeved white shirt, dark blue vest, blue jeans, and black boots. Standing next to her was a Combusken that didn't look happy.

On the other side of the blonde girl stood a boy that was wearing glasses and didn't look all too happy either. He wore a short-sleeved, black t-shirt and khaki cargo pants, and his hair was a spiky blonde with tips dyed violet-red.

"You're going to have to fight us for her." Sara said matter-of-factly, "We can't just let her go."

"Then we'll fight you!" The blonde girl pointed to Sara and beckoned her forward, "Come on, I can take you!"

Sara raised an eyebrow, "I'm sure you could pound me into the ground. I was talking about a Pokemon battle."

"That's what I meant." The girl sighed and shook her head, "Go, Amber!" The Combusken at her side jumped forward and struck a pose.

Thinking fast, Sara called out Star, who looked very miffed at being disturbed from her nap before she saw that it was a Pokemon battle that she was in. "Wing Attack!" She exclaimed, a normal starting move.

Amber was told to do an Ember attack on Star. As the Swellow struck her across the head with one wing, Star got a blast of fire that singed her chest feathers. She squawked in fury and began to peck at the Combusken, not even listening when Sara ordered her to stop.

Amber and Star fell over in a heap of feathers and beaks as they exchanged blow after blow, not even listening to their trainers. Finally, Star took flight again and prepared for the final attack, both she and Amber were breathing very heavily. Another Wing Attack, this time aimed to strike the Combusken's chest, was delivered, just as Amber blasted her with another Ember.

Both trainers watched in shock as both Star fell to the ground in a heap of feathers, and Amber rocked back and landed hard on her back. They had both fainted at the same time. It was a tie. "Let's try another Pokemon?" Sara suggested as she recalled Star, biting her lip in thought.

"Sure?" The blonde girl shrugged. Sara, after a moment's thought, tossed Meep's Pokeball. The kitten appeared and looked straight at Sara's opponent with wide, cute eyes.

"Awww…" She heard her opponent murmur as she pulled another Pokeball off her belt, "This will be easy experience for Squee…" She tossed the ball, and most everyone was surprised when nothing came out of it. The Pokeball just sat there, open.

"Uh, Rena, I'd try your head." The boy next to her whispered. So Sara's opponent was named Rena…

Rena looked up and plucked a ball of black fur off her head and watched as the sleeping kitten woke up and mewed sweetly. The kitten was a Naki, a very small Pokemon. It was no wonder that Rena didn't know that she was there, she was so small. She was almost pure black, with a large head, ears and eyes. Her eyes were pale yellow in color. Rena murmured, "Alright, Squee, all you need to do is attack this Pokemon, and you'll win!" She placed her down on the floor, where she pounced into a battle position.

"Meep, use Ember!" Sara cried, as her kitten flared up his collar of pink flame. It appeared he was going to attack, but that was before Squee cried something out and jumped on his back.

You could just see the wheels turning in Meep's eyes; one word rang ahead of all other thoughts. _Friend! _Letting his flame die again, Meep and Squee tumbled over each other, mewing and purring.

"I can't believe it." Rena groaned, "Shall we try yet another battle?"

"Rena, you don't need to battle for me." Pocky piped up, grinning mysteriously. "I like it here. Don't you see? This is like another adventure!" It appeared her friends didn't expect that.

"So… we came in here, followed you guys into a volcano, for nothing? What a rip-off!" Rena's friend exclaimed angrily, "At least Rena got to battle…"

"_Cookie? Who's cookie?" _Meep asked, he was in a deep conversation with Squee. For kittens, which normally have a two-second attention span, their conversation wasn't that deep. Squee mewed again, and he looked over to Rena, who had turned a shade of embarrassed red, and back to his new friend, _"That's Sara! Hi Sara!" _

She waved slightly to her Pokemon, who pounced over to her, followed closely by Squee, and they decided to chew on her shoelaces. "What are they saying?" Sara asked Elvina.

"Well, they've established the fact that Squee's trainer, Rena, has about three different names. But I dunno where cookie came from… anyways; the rest is random things, kinda hard to understand. Meep's already introduced us all to her, though." Elvina replied, chuckling slightly, "It seems that they're friends at first sight, doesn't it?"

"Well, sorry." Rena finally blurted, "We got carried away when we saw you with Pocky, that's all. So, we'll be leaving now…"

"Not so fast!" Maxie exclaimed, "You two are staying."

"Why?" The boy asked.

"Because now that you're here, we can't let you out again until our work is done. Just like your friend, we don't know what you heard from the people walking around, so we can't risk you going out and blabbing about this base. Besides, my little friend has a new buddy to play with." Maxie motioned to Meep and Squee, who were rolling around and chewing on Drake's shoelaces now.

They found a game to play finally, with Jacob actually. His shoelaces were thin, so they were easy to untie. They worked on one shoelace, untying it. And when Jacob bent to tie the first one, they untied the second. So it went on like that, tying, untying, tying, untying, while Drake, Sara, Elvina, Rena, and her friend were having a conversation.

"Well, I'm Devon." He said starting out, "And we _are_ sorry about attacking you like that."

"Yeah…" Rena murmured under her breath.

"And this little ray of sunshine is Rena." Devon patted her shoulder, and was swatted away, "Anyways, what are you all doing in a volcano anyways?"

"Well… uh, doing something important." Drake stammered out, "Something very, very important."

Sara had used a Revive (from Elvina's backpack) on Star, and she was sitting, very ruffled, on her shoulder. _"That Combusken was tough."_

Amber had also been revived, and offered a hot retort at that. Sara, for once, was very happy she didn't understand Pokemon that weren't hers. But it seemed Rena did, because she lifted an eyebrow once when Star was about to say something that was of importance.

"Can you understand her?" Sara asked nervously, shushing her Swellow and staring at Rena, "Are you a HAP?"

She seemed to sweat, "Yeah… uh, you could say that! I'm a HAP…"

"_More like a filthy in-breed if you ask me." _Star grumbled. Sara asked what she meant, and the Swellow seemed to swell, _"A half blood! Can't you smell it? She reeks of half-Pokemon!"_

"A Pokemorph?" Elvina offered, "Is that what you mean?"

"_Yeah, if that means what I'm implying." _Star growled.

"Oh, fine, I'm a Pokemorph then." Rena admitted with an angry glare at Star, who glared right back. Sara was surprised, she thought Rena looked quite normal, yet on second look she saw that the Pokemorph had slight fangs and claws. _So? _A voice inside her head asked, _she's just as normal as you are._

"Sara, there was something I've been meaning to ask you!" Tabitha interrupted the glaring session going on between Star and Rena. She was holding what looked like head-phones out to her, "Would you like to try our prototype Pokemon translator?"

The Pokemon translator was, of course, in red with black horns. It appeared that Team Magma people couldn't resist putting red and black on everything. Yet Sara couldn't put the translator on fast enough, and was amazed at how confusing the mass of Pokemon voices could be.

First, there was Star. _"Get away from me!" _She squawked as Squee and Meep looked over at her from Sara's other shoulder.

"_She's fun to play with, and she makes funny noises too!" _Meep was telling Squee as he attempted to get over to Star, without luck.

Squee managed to jump over Sara's head and onto Star's back. _"Like that?" _She asked, her voice sweet.

Star took flight and dumped Squee on the spot she'd left, _"Terrorists, both of you!" _She went over to Drake and began to pluck hairs out of his head again, and he made a big mistake of thinking she wanted Mellow.

Mellow's voice was deep and very beautiful, to Sara at least. He did use corny pick-up lines on Star after all… For now, those were the only Pokemon they all had out, except for Solorite and the Houndoom Fiendre, who made a sassy comment every once and a while. There was also Alkie, but she kept her silence very well.

"How can you stand it?" Sara asked Pocky, Elvina, and Rena, knowing she looked weird with black horns on, "It's so confusing!"

"You get used to it, when you're born with it." Rena replied with a shrug.

"_GET AWAY FROM ME!" _Star screamed when Mellow kept trying to get close to her, _"You're a terrorist too, happy?"_

"_You love me," _Mellow replied stubbornly, and Sara flinched as she knew her Swellow didn't at all. _"You just don't know it yet!"_

"_Yeah, right." _Star growled, settling on Sara's head again.

"Does she always sit on your head like that?" Devon asked, motioning to Star.

"Normally, yes." Sara replied, brushing one of Star's tail feathers out of her range of sight just as Mellow landed on her arm and began to sing.

"_My love for you is like a blooming flower." _He began in his beautiful voice. Sara couldn't believe her ears, but the song got better… _"We could make beautiful music together. Come with me, my wonderful cherry-blossom, let us fly!"_

Star groaned as he tried to groom her feathers some more. "So, how do you like it?" Maxie asked, he looked like he'd been laughing as he was wearing the same device over his ears, "Wonderful, contraption, don't you think?"

Sara nodded, "If it didn't look so strange on us, I'd wear it all the time." She took it off, and immediately Squee's giggles turned into mews and Mellow's beautiful voice became deep chirps.

"Come on now!" Maxie exclaimed, "We'd better be going!" He led the way again, followed by Tabitha and Pocky, then everyone else finally. Sara caught up with Drake and flagged him down. They were bringing up the rear, to make sure their 'prisoners' Rena and Devon didn't escape.

"You know, I didn't think my Pokemon were serious when they told me that Mellow flirts with Star." She started, to the angry squawk of her Swellow, who was still on her head, and the chirping reply from Drake's shoulder.

Drake sighed, "Mellow gave up for now." He replied, stroking the yellow Swellow.

"_Thank the heavens!" _Star cried.

"He has a very nice voice though." She continued, to the happy reply from Mellow and annoyed one from her own Swellow.

"You know, we're talking about our Pokemon right in front of them?" Drake said, whipping out a Pokeball and returning Mellow. Sara got the hint and returned her own Pokemon.

"He's really very sad, actually." Drake murmured, "Star is really mean to him, he tells me."

"Star tells me he's a terrorist, just like Meep." Sara sighed, "I wonder… do you think that Mellow is quite older than Star? Because I don't think she's acting like an adult around him."

"Mellow's older than she is, I know that. He's kinda interested in 'taking it up a notch' with Star. He's very lonely; none of my Pokemon can fly…"

"What does that have to do with anything? Sandsinger can fly, but she leaves Star alone." Sara nearly stepped on Meep and Squee as they raced and played tag between everyone.

"I remember you telling me that Star didn't like Sandsinger much." Drake replied, raising an eyebrow.

"She still doesn't." Sara replied, just as they entered a very wide cavern, a pool of magma at its side, like many of the other places they had passed, the Magma people didn't know how to get rid of the magma, so it just stayed there. But at the side of this pool stood a massive stone statue of a very ancient Pokemon. They had found Groudon, asleep and stone-colored from his ancient rest. Now all they had to do was wake him up.

Sara and Drake released their two birds again, and watched as Star was repelled quickly by the large male. They finally settled on both of Sara's shoulders as she approached the statue-Pokemon cautiously with Maxie by her side. Everyone else stayed back and waited as Maxie tapped the old creature with a metal rod, and watched it go up in flames and melt into the magma below.

Finally, Maxie turned back to the waiting humans and Pokemon, "Well," He started, looking around, tight-faced. "We've got a lot of work to do."


	25. Escape From Mount Chimney

Skitty-san, I worked as fast as I could! And I think this is about as far as the spoilers I gave you go…

Digital Shaman, maybe you could write a review on this chapter then?

Lily-san, you're giving me ideas now! xD I'll probably be writing Maxie catches a Squee now… But anyways, they're very cute like that!

:flinches: Ooh, hi Moon! Good to see you're back!

Twenty-five chapters, can you believe it?

**Chapter 25**

Nothing could wake Groudon from his sleep. They tried splashing him with water, which turned to steam in seconds; they tried attacking him, to no avail. Sara even tried playing the glass whistle around her neck, which refused to make a sound. Sundav, Fiendre, and Solorite watched them all, laughing. The three of them wouldn't help at all.

A couple of hours later, another man came in the room with them. He sounded very cocky. "You know, it would work a whole lot better if you had something to wake Groudon up with."

Elvina turned around to see that a man dressed in a colorful robe was watching them all with a smirk on his face. His hands were folded over, but in them were two shining orbs. The red one and the blue one from Mount Pyre! "How did you come by those?" Maxie asked, making hand signals behind his back, ordering some of them to go around and block the exit.

"They were a gift." He responded airily, "A gift from my Master. You see, I am Phoenix, Dominus's most trusted servant. I took the traitor's place." Phoenix spat 'traitor' like it was a curse. Rio fluffed up visibly, but had the sense not to argue.

There was a shuffling of feet, and many Team Magma grunts walked into the room, while the people and Pokemon that had already been here moved in front of Groudon. Dominus wanted Groudon, now all they had to do was protect him. "You aren't getting Groudon." Maxie hissed.

"_No way! We've worked too hard on getting him to get awake!" _Star added, squawking slightly at Phoenix. But all the big man did was laugh at them.

"Oh, this is truly priceless! You all think you can stop me?" He said with a laugh and a shake of his head, "Then down you all go. Oxren, I choose you!" Out of one of his own Pokeballs came a Pokemon of ex-legends, one that got kicked out of legendary status because of angering one of the more powerful legendaries: Mew. Oxren, the nightmare of fire.

Oxren, Blatos, and Rikeren were the three nightmare Pokemon actually, three bird-like creatures that could resemble the Pokemon they were built after: Moltres, Articuno, and Zapdos.

Oxren stood taller than the hunched-over form of Groudon, its blazing form full of battle spirit. Its wings were bony and long, shaped to have two very sharp points where two dagger-like spines stuck out at the sides. Attached to its long neck was a cruel head in which had two spiraling horns upon its broad brow. A silver beak, hooked sharply, finished off the picture of spines and fire for feathers.

They all could feel it, the tug of dread that a creature like this gave off. It was nowhere near the power of Dominus, who probably had a hand in making them, yet it still struck fear in all their hearts. Sundav had stood up, and her feathers never had looked paler. "So, you all like my pet?" Phoenix asked, patting the monster's side and laughing, "He could have been yours, traitor!"

"I would never want a beast like that." Rio spat back, "Don't you remember what happened in the legends?"

"Oh-ho, the legends!" Phoenix exclaimed, "The legends never hurt me child! They were only created to keep people scared…"

"_You are wrong." _Sundav growled, in a voice that was meant to enforce her power, yet turned out to be a croak as she coughed and grew even paler. _"Legends were created to warn the mortals of this time against making a mistake of the past. Or do you not remember what happened in the end? The ex-legends Oxren, Blatos, and Rikeren ended up eating their old trainers again. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't fancy going down that creature's gullet."_

"Aw, shut it, you glowing good-for-nothing! How about you save your warnings for people who care?" Phoenix finally snapped, "Now if you'll all excuse me, I have a Pokemon to wake up."

He whistled to Oxren, who was at the moment glaring at the mortals in front of it. Immediately, it charged, scattering everything in its way and hitting anything that didn't get out of the way fast enough. Nobody got hurt from the charge; it was like they were all expecting it at any time.

Oxren roared and opened his huge beak to engulf the sleeping Groudon in a torrent of flames. Seconds passed, still nothing happened. Finally the creature stopped to marvel at its work. Groudon was still there, glowing red-hot. But he hadn't moved or spoke. It was as if he was a real stone statue that breathed.

"Now, now my pet, we don't do it that way…" Phoenix started, but never got the chance to finish as both Maxie's Mightyena and Crobat clamped down on his side and shoulder. He cried out in pain, and finally the rest of the trainer's got the idea that Maxie had just had. Star and Mellow worked together for once to provide an annoyance for Oxren, who was angrily attacking the sleeping Groudon.

In a flash of light, Devon's Farfetch'd Leek joined the two of them as the avoided being scorched by the Oxren's deadly flames. Its pupil-less black eyes blazed the fury it felt as attack after attack was avoided.

Phoenix was scrambling away from the many furred Pokemon, mostly Poochyena from the Team Magma grunts, scratched and bit at him. Foam was now succeeding in doing some damage on Oxren, with the help of Rio's Blastoise, Dorovi, Pocky's Wooper, and Devon's Slowking.

But for all the struggling Pokemon, not one of them, not all of them together, were equal to the power that was unleashed in Pokemon form when Phoenix finally dropped the orbs and they rolled closer to Groudon before being seized up, too late. Maxie held the two orbs now; they were glowing like mad, and emitting a strange, high-pitched sound that held everything's attention and stopped Oxren mid-flame.

It happened fast, the light from the orbs died away and a slight shaking of the ground around them occurred. A minor shake caused by a very large creature; moving. Groudon first regained the lost color from his sleep, making him look normal again in bright scarlet. Then, he moved, sloshing the magma around him around like it was nothing but water. That had caused the slight shake.

Groudon looked down on all the creatures fighting in his domain, to the one almost as large and fiery as him, and roared loudly and with enough strength to get the ground to shake once again. He looked skywards, where there was rock blocking his way. The pull of his ancient enemy caused Groudon to punch through that rock completely, making it shatter and fall like rain upon the people and Pokemon underfoot. And then he was gone, out the hole his size, and away.

Through the skylight Groudon had punched, they all felt sweltering heat form. From Groudon, and his ancient goal of expanding the landmasses until there was no water, no ocean left. They had thought that releasing this creature to combat Kyogre was a good thing, yet now it was regretted by all. They had made a big mistake, yet it needed to be done for the good of all.

Phoenix whistled to Oxren while they were mostly still too stunned to attack, and he got on the huge creature's back and flew off after Groudon from the hole he'd made. Nobody lifted a finger to stop him.

What was thought to be an earthquake started again, sloshing the magma around. But it didn't stop quickly, and seemed to grow in intensity. "This is bad." Maxie finally broke the silence. "We've got to get out of here!" He roared.

"Recall your Pokemon." Tabitha continued, sounding calmer than Maxie, yet looking just as pale and frightened, "Except for those that can fly!"

Doing as they said, only Solorite, Fiendre, and Alkie were left out of the ones that can't fly. "Why?" Drake voiced the thought that they were all thinking.

"Because," Maxie replied as the magma noticeably rose in level, "Mount Chimney is going to blow!" He roared, looking around.

Star, Mellow, Sandsinger, Maxie's Crobat, Leek the Farfetch'd, a Tropius owned by Rio, and Rena's Aiglas Gryff were all out. Together, they could save the trainers here, but what about the rest of the Team Magma people in the base?

The Aiglas was a griffon-like Pokemon. Her feathers and fur was a light auburn, with black accents. Her beak was a pale yellow, and her eyes were dark purple. A fully evolved Aiglas, quite a rare Pokemon indeed. Aiglas are the only Pokemon, other than the psychic types, that have mastered the ability to speak to humans.

The people already were being shuffled into the room, to be flown out by the flying types, since almost none of them had a Pokemon that could fly. Team Magma was utterly unprepared for the magma, and now the lava spewing from the volcano's peak. They hadn't thought it was possible, since the volcano had been dormant for so long.

Star, Mellow, and Leek worked on one person at a time, and did their work quickly. Sandsinger and Gryff carried two people at once, while Tropius and Crobat could only manage one at a time. Their trainers decided to come last, as over a hundred people needed evacuating. This wasn't all the people in the volcano, over half had fled down through secret tunnels, and many were being turned away as too heavy, to go through another tunnel that was close by.

The problems started when the magma from the pool began to hiss and spit when it overflowed completely, blocking one escape tunnel and moving forward. The flying Pokemon were beginning to tire, but just about everyone was evacuated at the moment. Sandsinger and Tropius went up with the last three Team Magma people, while Devon and Rena were on Gryff.

Sundav had left with Fiendre, Solorite, and Alkie, and had not come back. As Sandsinger returned down, she looked exhausted and was breathing heavily. _"Humans are heavy." _She stated matter-of-factly.

"One more trip." Elvina murmured, patting the Flygon's side as she and Sara got onto her back. It would only be one more trip actually, all the trainers were on or being carried by their Pokemon now.

On the surface, there was nobody still there waiting for them. Maxie and Tabitha were long-gone, to lead their people to safety. Sara returned her Flygon for a fitful rest and sighed. "That wasn't expected, was it?" She asked.

"Nope. And our Pokemon shouldn't have had to do that either!" Rena roared, looking absolutely livid, "They had escape tunnels, why didn't they use them?"

"Uhhhh, that's why." Drake pointed up, where the unnaturally bright sun was still shining, through a cloud of smoke from Mount Chimney's peak, where bright lava was oozing down at an alarmingly fast rate. It was almost to the hole in the volcano they'd escaped from actually, and had covered all in its path. A silent eruption with very smooth, fast-running lava.

"I don't get your- hey, is lava coming from there too?" Rena pointed over to the side, then down, where the base of the mountain was pooling already drying lava. It was coming from the bottom, and the top, probably from a crack in the base of the volcano.

"This is not good." Jacob murmured, "We can't get down, and can't get up either. We should have gone first, darn it!"

"_What's the fun it that?" _Sundav asked lightly, appearing on Sara's shoulder in a flash of scarlet light, _"When teleporting is much more fun!" _

Sara opened her mouth to speak, thought better of it, and closed it. _"You didn't think I'd let lava roast you all to a crisp, did you?" _Sundav asked with a laugh, then a series of coughs as she seemed to grin.

"You always appear at the last possible moment, don't you?" Drake asked, voice touching a bit of sarcasm.

Star squawked from the air, looking absolutely exhausted. _"No, she's not here at the last moment." _She murmured, losing altitude.

"Star, get away from there! Don't fall into the lava!" Sara screamed. Star chirruped tiredly and stopped flying, going into a sickening dive right down, heading directly for the running lava that was under her. Sundav teleported and would have caught the Swellow, if not for the bright yellow blur that caught her before then.

Mellow cried and back winged franticly, saving Star from the dive finally, even though he was exhausted himself. Leek joined in, grasping Star on one of her wings, just as Star fainted, murmuring something under her breath. _"You saved me…" _

Star was returned to her trainer as Mellow crash-landed in front of Drake on his way back, fainted. Leek was returned to her Pokeball just as Sundav reappeared. _"That could have been avoided." _She grumbled, _"You were lucky." _She looked upon Sara without emotion as the blonde girl cuddled her first Pokemon, tears staining her cheeks.

"_Come," _She continued, _"Let us flee from the damage done today from awakening Groudon. It was meant to be after all, wasn't it? Now all we have to do is pray my brother didn't sense me there…"_

Everyone crowded around Sundav as she lifted her wings and teleported them to the front of a Pokemon Center. Mount Chimney was in the distance, dark and gloomy with its rings of smoke and lava. There would be many casualties from this…

Sundav was gone again, nothing left to reveal that she'd teleported them there. Sara was still clutching her Pokemon to her chest, feeling stupid for not thinking of returning her into her Pokeball when she was done lifting Drake up with Mellow and Leek. "Well?" She asked shakily, "What now?"

"Where are Maxie and the Team Magma people?" Elvina asked Maxie's Crobat, who had come with them. He beat his wings heavily and screeched, "They retreated and are hiding in the desert here." She said aloud.

"I could have told them that." Pocky murmured, "Wasn't that exciting guys!"

"NO!" Nearly everyone yelled. They were getting a lot of attention now, looking and smelling singed and all.

"Let us go into the Pokemon Center now and heal our Pokemon!" Elvina said loudly, so every staring person from Fallarbor Town would hear that they weren't doing any harm. It was a good idea, everyone but Rio flocked into the Pokemon Center.

"Aren't you coming?" Elvina asked when he hadn't budged an inch. Rio was looking very nervous.

"Uh… no… I think I'll just stay here and… admire the flowers!" He stammered out.

"Why?" She continued.

"Well, I kinda can't… Nurse Joy will recognize the mark on my cape and… well, we won't go into that. The Joy from Opal Town is tough, I'll tell you that!"

"Can't you take your cape off?"

"Uh… maybe." He untied the cape off and looked at his back, "It's on my shirt too." He flashed a grey mark on the back of his black cape. The moon was full and glittering grey for the mark, with a dark figure that looked awfully like Catastrofate howling and black over it.

"Take off your shirt? No, no! I'm kidding!" Elvina replied quickly, "Will you be alright out here?"

Rio nodded, "I've been ever since I started wearing the mark. Maybe I'll get new clothes soon… but go ahead without me, I'll be fine."

"Bye Rio." Elvina waved slightly as she entered the Pokemon Center and left him out there, alone.

Rena, Sara, Devon, and Drake were all holding playing cards when she entered and gave her Pokemon over for healing. "My, we have a big crowd today." The Nurse murmured, taking her Pokeballs and smiling, "We will call you when they're alright again."

Maxie's Crobat was curled up and hanging upside down on one of the roof railings, sleeping. He must have refused to be taken into the back and healed. Solorite was stretched over a small couch, resting next to Jacob with his head on his lap. Fiendre was snoring in the middle of the card game, literally.

"What are you guys playing?" Elvina asked as she sat in between Sara and Drake and on a cushion.

"Bs!" Drake cried when Devon had put down three cards face-down and announced 'three fours.' He flipped over the three cards to reveal three different cards and shoved the small pile Devon's way with a grin. "'Tis fun. Wanna play?"

"_How can you four think of games when we just escaped from a volcano erupting?" _Fiendre asked snappishly as he had been jarred awake by the loud noises Drake was making.

Elvina translated, something she wanted to know herself, "Well, it's not so stressful." Devon suggested.

"No, we're going to be up to our ears in worry as soon as our Pokemon are healed and we're back out trying to foil Dominus." Sara muttered, "So why not have a little fun first?"

"Bs, take them!" Rena shoved the pile at Drake, who was now looking flustered when his eight card turned out to be a five.

"I guess you're right…" Elvina murmured, surprised to see that Fiendre had relocated to her side and curled up again.

"_I'm hungry." _He growled, like the world should stop at the moment and give him food.

"Good for you! Want some… POCKY!" Pocky exclaimed, looking to be in good spirits as she offered a stick of chocolate Pocky to the old hound. He sniffed it and took a bite carefully.

"_What is that?" _Fiendre asked sarcastically, coughing and spluttering, _"That's human food!"_

"It's Pocky! Pocky is good for everything!" Pocky replied, setting the half-eaten stick down and offering some to Sara, the only person who was actually 'normal' for her.

Eventually, Nurse Joy called them over all at once, calling out Pokemon names and handing the correct Pokeball to the correct trainer. When they were all distributed again, there was a lot of them to go around, Sara let out her Pokemon.

Star was looking very tired still, half-asleep. _"She didn't attack the Chansey for once." _Althea murmured with a slight smirk, _"Not fun today Star?"_

"_Huh-nun? Oooohh, no." _Star replied, settling on Sara's lap and falling asleep again like a rock.

"_She's a sleepy-head." _Sandsinger noted cheerfully.

Karen just purred and rubbed at Sara's side, getting stroked happily. Meep chewed on Rena to get his friend out again, and Squee appeared for him with the rest of Rena's Pokemon. Soon, everyone's Pokemon was out and having a good time. It was a disaster! Together, all their Pokemon took up about one tenth of the large Pokemon Center's space, and were still moving around.

Mellow was very interesting to watch, as he groomed his sleeping Star. He sang for her, and still she slept on, not noticing him at all.

Finally, Star woke up for dinnertime, which was yet another disaster as every Pokemon demanded something different for the most part. Hot soup was distributed for the trainers as well. "So, how do you feel Star?" Sara asked worriedly as she blew on her soup, not noticing as it went everywhere off her spoon.

The Swellow raised her head, ruffled her feathers, and crooned very much like Mellow had been doing to her as soon as they met. Mellow immediately raised his head from his bowl of food and just stared at her for a while, before crooning back and beckoning to her. Stunned, Sara and Elvina watched as the two Swellow shared the same food and eventually started grooming one another's glossy feathers.

"Huh, it only took saving her life for Star to actually talk to Mellow." Elvina stated with a laugh. "I wonder how long this will last." As if to answer her question, Star squawked at Mellow, who had begun to sing for her again.

"Well, I don't think she likes his singing." Rena put in, "But other than that…" She shrugged.

Eventually, the tired group fell asleep in sleeping bags and cuddled next to their trainers. Meep and Squee played for a while after 'lights-out,' and when they finally curled up to sleep next to old Solorite, they saw something unexpected. Star was asleep, snuggled next to Mellow.


	26. The Trap

Thanks to everyone who gave me a review! I understand this chapter is a bit late, yet I couldn't update for the past three days, so please bear with me.

**Chapter 26**

"_What is the meaning of all of this sister?" _The beast's deep voice was strained with anger and the fury that was boiling over. His cave was under the sea, _his_ sea, and his domain remained large.

Sundav bowed her head, _"You know humans, brother. I could not stop them." _The light bird gave off an aura of light that filled her brother's dark cave, illuminating every stalactite and detail carved from years of water movement.

"_You know of the humans that did this." _He stated. Not asked, the beast knew his sister too well to ask a silly question such as that. He wouldn't snap at this point, with only his sister to take his rage out on. That would not do, especially since she would provide no fight for him.

"_I do." _Sundav replied quietly. _"Do you remember Mystic?" _

"_Yes."_

"_Mystic has finally been reborn." _She murmured, turning her head to one side, as if refusing to meet her brother's eyes.

The beast paused for what seemed like a century. His feathers, slick and smooth as always, had come up slightly from shock. _"You surprise me sister." _He finally said coldly, _"That-that human? Your pitiful choice of mortals is showing sister."_

"_Mystic was a good mortal, for the while I knew her." _Sundav replied without enthusiasm, knowing that this old argument would never be won. _"She already has the right Pokemon so far as well."_

"…_Continue." _There was no effort in the word. Just 'continue'.

"_The bird of the sky-named for the night's jewels. A Swellow. A Swellow named Star." _Sundav leveled a glare in her brother's direction, _"The daughter of a Pokesprite and half a Pokemon she does not appear to be. The half-Absol that appears to be full Vulpix, Althea. Must I continue?"_

"_Star and Althea eh? A lucky break, I say. No human I've ever known has ever been reborn." _The beast of the sea shifted in his bed of water, _"So why is it possible that this is true?"_

"_People can be reborn, brother." _Sundav growled, _"It takes thousands of years for them, but it can be done. Unlike Pokemon, who can come back about three hundred years, it takes a very special human to come back to life." _Realizing she'd hit a nerve, Sundav continued, _"And that's why your old friend hasn't come back."_

"_DO NOT SPEAK OF SELRA LIKE THAT!" _He roared, shaking the whole of the caves as his got up and opened his wings; displaying a very intimidating sight. _"If you are here to insult me, you'd best get out now sister!"_

"_You insulted my old friend, why do you feel the need to say that insulting yours is not okay?" _

"_Continue, maybe I will believe you." _Sundav's brother settled down again, but still was fluffed up from anger.

"…_I do not remember what the third Pokemon would have to be." _She murmured, _"That was why I tried to stop."_

It was always the truth that Sundav and her brother told one another. Only here could Sundav say whatever she pleased without draining her powers. Her brother's power hung heavy in the air, but it was what stopped Dominus's controlling magic from taking effect here. _"I remember it." _The beast of the sea stirred the water of his cave in circles, unknowingly creating waves on the ocean surface. _"The third was supposedly more powerful than Marina herself. A small Pokemon with powers even the late legendary Marina could not even imagine. And of humble origins, to top it off. I cannot believe you forgot that one, of all the Pokemon required."_

As one, Sundav and her brother swept their wingtips across their hearts, remembering what the cruel creature Marina could do. The three nightmare Pokemon: Oxren, Blatos, and Rikeren; the Pokemon that had once been Moltres, Articuno, and Zapdos. Or parts of them.

Marina had been a cruel Pokemon, a fallen legendary as well. The great Mew had seen to that, after learning of what she had done. Sundav and her brother had still been chicks when Marina had done the unspeakable in creating her three nightmares. Oxren had the body of a monster, but the heart and heat of one very unfortunate Moltres. Rikeren had the body of Zapdos, but was a cruel beast with seemingly no heart at all. And worst of all, Blatos had been a mistake, trying to get the soul of an Articuno, and none of anything else. The soul of the tortured Articuno, she had never been able to truly pass on. Though by legend it was Blatos that was cruelest to her 'trainer'.

"_The reincarnate of Mystic, her name is Sara, has her third Pokemon, a Flygon named Sandsinger. But I daresay that Flygon are not small." _Sundav murmured, _"So it must be the Espeon. Karen, the silver-furred Espeon, probably fills the third requirement."_

Her brother cleared his throat, _"I thought that the required Pokemon were listed in the order they had to be caught." _

"_Maybe." _Sundav murmured, _"But maybe not. Sara does not know of anything we are speaking of at the moment. She would like to hear that one of her Pokemon is special in that way."_

"_What of the fourth, fifth, and sixth Pokemon?"_

"_I do not remember those either." _Sundav admitted, her voice turning dull and flat as she realized that was a very bad thing.

"_I remember… one… it was… a Pokemon of many talents that speaks nothing but the truth." _Sundav's brother stammered out, _"And this Pokemon supposedly wasn't captured in the normal way."_

"_I doubt she has that one yet." _Sundav replied, thinking about Meep and snorting slightly, _"Unless her kitten has many talents, and my help made the capturing… different."_

"_Sundav… you really need to stay here for a little while." _His tone was worried, but as always, Sundav's brother loved her company, even if they got along almost never.

Sundav looked down at her feathers, which were pastels in color. _"I guess you are correct, brother." _She stated, sitting down and staring at her brother with amusement. _"So, how is your life going, swims-with-fishes?"_

* * *

"Here, kitty-kitty! Come here!" Adam cooed under his breath when the silver Espeon, Karen, came closer to the tree he and Famulus were hiding behind. Her eyes were glued to a bright little thing on a string that Adam was pulling in. She dropped into a hunter's crouch before two kittens, a Squee and a Naki, beat her to the toy and dragged it away, pulling the string right out of Adam's hands. 

"Nice one." Famulus growled sarcastically, "We will so get killed if you continue playing around like this."

Adam bit back a retort as the Vulpix Althea joined them, smoke pouring from her nostrils. Karen padded up next to her, saw what she did, and growled. "Uh oh." Was all Adam could think of saying as he turned and fled for his life, Famulus and fire following him.

* * *

"What's going on?" Drake asked as Karen came back from the bushes without Althea and pressed her forehead against his leg urgently. 

Karen told him once that her psychic powers could be used for communication once. Drake had his doubts that anyone else knew, but it seemed pretty obvious, so he kept his mouth shut about it. _"It's Dominus's cronies, Adam and Famulus." _She spoke to his mind.

Drake had taken a break from the Pokemon Center, leading out all the Pokemon that wanted fresh air. At the moment, it was only Meep, Squee, Karen, Althea, and Dorovi that wanted to leave. Dorovi was sunning himself like a lazy lump on a tree stump at the moment, carelessly ignoring Drake running past him back to the Pokemon Center.

"Evil trainers!" He cried, startling his friends and their Pokemon from their lunch.

"Did they have horns?" Pocky asked sarcastically, chewing on a stick of her favorite food, Pocky.

"No…"

"Then they couldn't have possibly been evil." She nodded and went back to her lunch. Althea and Karen nosed their way in, and Althea barked something at Sara.

"Why is it that all the girls understand them and we don't?" Jacob asked as he observed Pocky, Sara, Rena, and Elvina stiffen.

"Because you're not special." Pocky muttered to him.

"Adam and Famulus?" Sara asked, looking up to Drake, who nodded, "That's just wonderful, they know where we are."

"So what? We're leaving here today anyway…" Rena muttered, watching a trainer with a Growlithe walk by and give them all a level glare. "And I'll be happy to go too."

"Althea says they fled from her and she chased them far from here." Sara translated, "So that means we had time to leave now."

"_What did I miss? Leave? We just got here…" _Dorovi grumbled, having sat down and pressed his warm scaled side to Drake's leg. He muttered something of an apology to his trainer, something about stupid electronic doors. Drake knew for a fact that his Pokemon had left his sunning place very reluctantly.

"I'm not leaving so quickly." Pocky muttered, "The lizard's right, we did just get here. So I'm staying, since these trainers probably don't even know I exist."

Devon grinned and leaned on Rena, just to be shoved away, "We're staying too." He said, "Just incase these trainers do know Pocky exists."

Jacob muttered something about food and Alkie with his excuse to stay as Sara got up and was followed by Elvina and their Pokemon. Mellow came to perch on Drake's shoulder. "You look good Mell." He told his Swellow with a grin, Mellow had been preened for the first time in a long while, and his feathers were looking good. As they exited the Pokemon Center with their Pokemon, Solorite and Fiendre bringing up the rear, Squee and Meep attacked Sara's shoes. The blonde girl explained to Squee what was happening and the Naki cast a tearful look at Meep before going into the Center without him.

Mellow didn't reply, he was too busy singing for his Star. She flew above him, casting looks down at him and sometimes adding a note to the song. Rio eventually joined them, his eyes shadowed.

"_Isn't she wonderful?" _Mellow asked in a dreamy voice which didn't fit him at all. His sights were fixed on Star and wouldn't look away.

"_Earth to lover-boy. Come in lover-boy!" _Dorovi exclaimed from the ground.

Mellow casually ignored him and flapped over to Sara, where he sat down on her free shoulder. Star had landed, since flying in soot wasn't very good for her. Soot was falling freely over them all, and most of the Pokemon returned to their Pokeballs because of it. Faithful Dorovi stayed out though, half-buried in soot.

"_This stuff stinks." _He complained though, over and over again.

Dorovi got the shock of his life as he stepped on a discolored patch of ground and a little boy jumped out from it. "Out of the soot I jump!" He cried, brandishing a sword, "I challenge thee!"

"_Uhhhh… no you don't. Challenge my trainer, not me." _

"Sure, I accept." Drake said, grinning down at his Pokemon, "One-on-one?"

"I wasn't talking to you!" The ninja boy, by the looks of his clothes, growled as he pointed the sword at Elvina's nose, "I was talking to her! Yeah, that's right!"

"It wasn't me you where challenging." She argued, "You didn't jump out when I passed you!"

"Well… I uh… challenge you now! How about that?"

"How about no?"

"Alright, alright… how about you little lady?" The ninja boy turned to Sara, "Would you like to battle?"

"Why don't you just battle Drake?" Rio asked softly, "You did challenge him…"

"Now look here!" The ninja boy stepped forward, a big mistake. For he had stepped on the tail of a seriously angry Fiendre. The old Houndoom snarled and snapped as the boy turned around and ran for his life.

"You owe me a battle!" Drake yelled after him, but the boy took no notice.

"That's was just plain strange." Elvina muttered when Fiendre returned, looking very chagrined. They continued on, until another ninja boy jumped out.

"I challenged her." He stated, pointing at Sara, "Now battle me."

Rio, who stepped on the ninja boy this time, snorted, "Yeah, right. You challenged me, now we have to battle!"

The boy narrowed his eyes, "I didn't challenge you. I challenged her! That's right, the blue-haired one. Ouch!" Elvina had knocked him out cold from a hit to the side of his head.

She dusted off her hands, "Let's keep going, shall we?" Elvina asked as if she hadn't done anything.

They two boys kept a good distance away from Elvina as they kept going through the soot-covered path and eventually reached a strip of grass that lead away to a sun-filled pass that would eventually become desert. Sara walked over to Drake when they finally got away from the soot, and offered him his Mellow back. "Tired of being a pile of Swellow, eh?" He asked with a laugh as he perched his ruffled Swellow on his shoulder. Mellow resisted for a while.

Sara laughed, "You don't know the half of it. But maybe Star will visit Mellow sometime…" Star squawked something to her trainer, causing her to giggle, fluffed her feathers and turned her head away from Drake.

"_That was mean." _Dorovi stated, but he was letting off small lizard laughs.

"Alright, what was Star's insult this time?" Drake asked in a monotone voice, causing Sara to laugh even more. He was quite used to the Swellow's sassiness by now, and was very glad he couldn't understand her most of the time.

"_I'm not saying." _Dorovi responded, snickering slightly. Sara shrugged and refused to say, while Mellow just stared at his Star.

"What do you have to say?" Drake muttered to his own Swellow.

"_I love her." _Mellow said in that same star-struck tone.

"Oh, no you don't!" His trainer exclaimed as he caught the bird by his talon and held him. "Give Sara some peace! I know Star is pretty and-"

"_Don't hit on Berry!" _Mellow squawked in reply.

"Who's Berry?"

"_My Berry." _The male Swellow cocked his head at Star, who was fluffed up as Sara walked farther away from them.

Drake hurried to catch up and let Mellow sit on his shoulder while Star shifted to be close to him. "You nicknamed her Berry?"

"_Yup. And do you want to know what she named me?"_

"_This'll be good." _Dorovi said, still snickering.

"Go on…"

"_She named me Thorn! Isn't it lovely!"_

Dorovi was nearly crying with laughter. Even his trainer had to stifle laughter, "Uhhhh, I don't think Star likes you-"

"_Nonsense! Berry loves me!"_

"It sure doesn't look like it…" Drake sighed, but knew he couldn't argue with the bird.

* * *

"Sassy, eh?" Dominus growled, having his Pokeball returned to his hand, empty. Blatos jeered at him and flew upward, out of range. The bird had no real form to speak of; she just appeared as a cloud, much like Gastly. A _blue_ cloud in the shape of a very large bird, to be exact. 

"_You'll never catch me!" _She roared with squawking laughter before the fallen legendary was gone.

Dominus snorted, this was just how it ended with the nightmare. Oxren and Rikeren loved the darkness; they had come to him easily enough. But Blatos? No, she still had a heart of her own and no darkness could ever really touch the soul of an Articuno. But he tried, he tried…

"_Masssssster, I think ssssssshe'ssssss gone." _The Serptra at his feet, a long, skinny thing, hissed. A dark and poison type, this certain Serptra followed him around, feeding off his dark aura. Her head was narrow, flat, and black, the red eyes fiery. Her long body was thin and much longer than any other snake-like Pokemon, was forest green and mottled with black.

Dark types didn't need dark control bands, they by nature served Dominus. This one was no exception. "I could have guessed that." Dominus replied with a dark laugh.

"_Sssssshall I fffollow her?" _Serptra hissed.

"And what would you do when you found her?"

"_Ssssssoul offfff Articuno sssssoundssss like a good ssssnack." _

"Go have fun."

* * *

"_You promised Sandsinger you'd let her out, remember?" _Star asked with a friendly peck to the side of her trainer's head to get her attention back. 

Sandsinger had been ready to beg and plead Sara to let her out, and it hadn't been hard for her to convince her trainer to let her out in the desert. She had said it was because of the desert flies (Sandsinger's favorite food.) and she wanted to eat them. But it wasn't hard to figure out that the Flygon was missing her own kind.

The Flygon blinked when she was released from her ball, looked at the desert in the distance, and exclaimed happily. _"Come on Sara! Let's go, let's go!" _She literally picked up her trainer and flew off with her. Star wasn't too happy about this, she was left behind.

Her friends hurried to follow them, Sandsinger was making good time. "You look happy." Sara observed, and her Flygon bobbed her head happily.

"_I am happy! I get to see friends!"_

"But this isn't Sun-"

"_Doesn't matter! Everyone of my kind is a friend! And maybe Star-bird, but I like you!"_

Sara blinked, "I like you too. Can you set me down now?" She put her Go-goggles on when they entered the sandstorm going on. Sandsinger didn't seem phased at all by it. She let her trainer down, and immediately, Sara stumbled and fell.

She got up to see her Flygon standing on the sand like a statue, not even twitching. "What's wrong?"

Sandsinger shook her head and pointed. Sara followed her clawed finger to see what she was staring at. Large groups of Vibrava were staring at them, red eyes glinting malevolently. Sara and Sandsinger had fallen for a trap!


	27. Tarragon the Desert Master

Alright, I've suffered from parents hogging the computer, the worst writer's block you can imagine, and enjoyed a wonderful book. But I've finally updated, and here it is… -cowers- Please-don't-attack-me-thank-you!

Moon, I'm going to read the books before I see the movies… O.O I did this with Harry Potter, saw the movie before reading the book, and it was a dead giveaway what would happen.

Digital Shaman and Lily-chan, thank you for your reviews!

Shelby Cloyster, I know that I didn't put it in here, but whenever a Pokemon is described as being 'red-eyed,' nine point nine times out of ten that means that they're under Dominus's control with the black control bands. And was the Vibrava shiny? O.O It would be interesting to see what color a real red-eyed Vibrava would change into. By all means, you can borrow the thought of a HAP, but remember to give me credit! ;)

Alright, yeah, I left it at a cliff-hanger on purpose. You'll all see later… ;)

**Chapter 27**

Sandsinger watched as those of her own kind fanned their wings and cried out at them. _"Sara, get on my back." _She ordered her human as she stepped in front of her and blocked the Vibrava from attacking.

"But Sandsinger…" Sara breathed, yet did as her Flygon said and climbed onto her back between her two large wings. As soon as Sandsinger knew that her human was settled on her back, she jumped and battled for altitude just as the first of the red-eyed Vibrava attacked her feet.

Ignoring the pain from a cut foot, Sandsinger dumped her trainer on safe ground next to her other human friends. Just as she was turning to go back into the sandstorm, the bird Star squawked, _"And where are you going?"_

She had heard what Sara had not… a low groaning, moaning sound that was being made by something, something that she just had to help… _"Back into the storm." _Sandsinger replied pleasantly and flitted back into the storm. A fresh wave of sand hit the Flygon's chest, but she ignored it as always.

The worst thing about a sandstorm, Sandsinger found later, was that the sand weighed her down and made gaining altitude hard. The groaning increased in pitch as she got closer to the center of the storm, it even drowned out the sound of her own song, the one created by her wing beats.

"_Stop!" _Another voice commanded Sandsinger, and she turned with effort to see another Flygon a bit away, flying straight at her.

* * *

"Make way, make way!" Jacob yelled at the scattering Spinda as Alkie pranced right through them. 

Pocky, who had decided to ride with him, cheered. "This is fun!" She exclaimed, not even caring about the strange side-look the fire horse shot at her. Pocky was enjoying every little bit of this, always saying this was how an adventure should be. On Alkie, none of the annoying ninja boys bugged them; they bugged Rena and Devon instead.

"I challenged her." The ninja boy, that Elvina had knocked out by the big bump on his head, said as he pointed to Rena. He would find a second bump on his head the next time he woke up.

"Ninja boys are annoying." Rena supplied when she saw the look that Devon and his Slowking were giving her.

"_They only want to battle girls. What's the problem with that?" _Suro, the Slowking, asked wisely.

"_They were challenging Rei, that's the problem!" _Rena's Combusken, Amber, supplied angrily.

"Let's keep going, shall we?" Devon asked neutrally, "Jacob and Pocky have probably already gotten there."

So they kept trudging along…

* * *

The dragon woke with a start and looked up. _"What the…" _The clouds above changed right before his eyes, turning dark and wicked looking, but didn't give off a drop of rain as the cloud vanished like nothing ever happened. Rayzos shook his head and looked again, but it was the same thing. 

"_In all my years, it couldn't be Groudon and Kyogre again?" _He asked himself as he unwound from the large stone pillar that had served as his home and resting place. But there was another force that kept him from taking flight. Rayzos recognized it immediately and bit back a roar of fury at his own brother.

The Rayquaza knew it would be a waste to let his brother know of his existence. Every time they met, it was a battle that continued afterwards.

Instead of flying, Rayzos called out with his mind to the only one who would know what was happening. _"Rayzos?" _The beautiful voice could only be Sundav's. _"Rayzos, you're alive!"_

"_Alive, and kicking too." _He responded, fighting away the hot flash that signaled that he was blushing in a way only Rayquaza could do, _"I sense you are with someone…"_

"_Her brother."_

"_Excuse me sir." _Rayzos replied to the grumpy beast of the sea, _"I was only wondering…"_

"_You are thinking of the war now, are you not?" _Sundav replied smoothly, and Rayzos fought another blush down. It would not do for a flying Pokemon to go by and see him blushing like that.

"_Yes, ma'am."_

"_I've told you before; don't call me 'ma'am'. Anyways, we have problems." _

"_Tell me about it." _Her brother grumbled, _"That fool Dominus summoned the two Earth-makers!"_

"_Ah, so I sensed Groudon and Kyogre correctly." _Rayzos looked out at the clouds once more before adding, _"And so it begins, again, eh?"_

"_Exactly." _Sundav said with what sounded like a sigh, but Rayzos couldn't tell. He knew that they were a sizable distance apart, and that caused sounds to be distorted. _"The Lady of the Day has finally been reborn, in the girl named Sara Wellington."_

"_Wellington? What is this Wellington business?"_

"_Humans give their children two, even three, names now. To tell them apart, I guess." _Sundav's voice had a touch of that 'Pokemon are better than humans' tone in her voice. _"The Absol named Solorite is with her, talk to him if you want to know more. He probably knows her better than I do by now…"_

Their mind link broke off after she was done, and Rayzos sighed. _Do I really want to know? _He thought to himself as he looked across the wide sea, where a belt of rain was vanishing from sight. The Rayquaza shook his head and stretched his wings and mind, searching for the Absol Solorite. His mind found the Absol in the Hoenn region, closer than he would have thought.

He closed his eyes and waited for a moment before requesting that Solorite let him borrow his sight and voice for a little bit to get to know this 'Sara Wellington' better. It was given rather quickly, and Rayzos found himself looking up at a short-haired blonde girl that was grimacing down at him.

* * *

"You do not look happy to see me." Solorite remarked, in a tone that he normally never used. Sara just kept staring at the Absol. 

"Are you feeling alright Solorite?"

"_He's never alright." _Star chirruped her translation of Fiendre's remark.

"I am fine."

"What's wrong Solorite?" Sara persisted.

"If you must know, I am not the Solorite you know." At Sara's puzzled look, the Absol reared up and cocked his head to one side, "You look a lot like Mystic."

"_You told her that yourself in the first hour you knew her!" _Star grumbled.

"I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean." The blonde murmured.

"Ugh, should I introduce myself?" Solorite was now speaking in a tone he seriously had never used before, one of bitter impatience. He dropped back onto all fours and cleared his throat. "I am speaking and looking through your friend to know you better, Sara Wellington. My name is Rayzos. You're all heard of me, I'm sure, the legends are bursting with tales about me."

"Which legendary might you be then, Rayzos?" Elvina asked, giving a funny look at the Absol that was being spoken through, "You must be a very powerful psychic."

Ironically, Solorite-Rayzos burst out laughing, "Oh my dear girl, how charming!" He exclaimed finally, "Your reasoning is correct, even though it is an obvious one. I am most definitely a wonderful psychic. Comes from years of practice, yet my disgusting brother can do it as well, so-"

"Rayquaza!" Drake burst out, drowning out Solorite-Rayzos's voice with his startling exclamation.

"Took you mortals long enough." Solorite-Rayzos yawned when there was an intake of breath from everyone listening to him. He must not have thought speaking to these so called 'mortals' was so amazing, but of course he didn't know they didn't see a legendary every day, if Sundav was not counted, "Forgive me, I have just woken up. If I may, Lady Sara, might I ask a few questions?"

"Ask away…"

"Who are your parents? Who is that Swellow on your shoulder and why the heck is there another one on your head? How are you related to Mystic? Do you have the Touch-?"

"Slow down, slow down!" Sara cried, throwing up her arms, "My mom is… well, she works for Pokemart Enterprise, selling stuff. And my dad… he's a professional Pokemon trainer. I haven't seen him in two years now, so I don't know what's happened to him."

"The two Swellow." Solorite-Rayzos prompted.

"This is Mellow." Sara indicated the puff of Swellow that was snoozing with his head buried in a lock of her hair. Every once and a while he would let off a whistling-snore. "And this joy is Star."

Her own Swellow ruffled up proudly, _"And she means the joy part." _Star added.

"I'm sure she does, little one." Solorite-Rayzos replied, causing Star to squawk that she was not little at all. He ignored her and looked Sara up and down before continuing, "Mystic, and do you have the Touch mortal Lady?"

"I have no clue what relationship I have to Mystic, truthfully. And yes, I have the Touch. And… Rayzos?"

"Lady Sara?"

"Why aren't you hear right now asking these questions?"

There was a pause, in which Solorite-Rayzos looked thoughtful. He shook his head, as if to clear it, and replied, "Because, I would be seeable for miles around if I made a show showing up. Have you any idea how large I am compared to you?" The blonde nodded, as did everyone else, as they all had seen Nekroquaza.

"Well then, you must have met my brother." The legendary half-snapped, "A real wonder why that reckless creature is still alive, isn't it? What an idiot that overgrown lizard is!" He continued his rant for a bit, while Sara and company looked shell-shocked over his outburst.

When Rayzos calmed down, he muttered an apology and continued to speak, "That thing is Ruler of the Skies at the moment, he took over while I was asleep. Damn beast! If I was to leave my nice little pillar, he'd be on me in… well, let's just say a day."

Sara noticed the sandstorm was beginning to wail and she shifted her attention to what now looked to be a wall of sand blowing around. She bit her lip, trusting Sandsinger to be alright as she had said she would be, and not getting mauled by controlled Pokemon, she wouldn't send a Pokemon in after her. It would betray the Flygon's trust, which had been hard-earned.

Solorite yawned again, and Rayzos bid the humans, Swellow, and Houndoom farewell. He returned to normal and slumped down onto the ground. "I forgot how much Rayzos liked to talk." He said hoarsely to the watching humans.

* * *

Sandsinger bowed her head, _"My apologies, Desert Master, but I must keep going." _She turned away from the Flygon and kept battling the winds, which were blowing her back now. 

He shook his head, _"There is nothing beyond here but death and despair. Take my word for it, friend, you do not want to continue on."_

She continued on as if he hadn't spoken, and acknowledge his existence until the Flygon said, _"As Desert Master, I say you cannot go any further. If you try to defy me, I will have to battle you."_

"_Then bring it on." _Sandsinger replied angrily, _"I will find the source of that sound, whether you like it or not."_

The Flygon flapped his wings hard and caught up to her effortlessly. He let out a battle cry and slashed out at her, something that Sandsinger barely dodged away from. She realized then that she was at a big disadvantage. While her opponent could move freely in the sandstorm, she was being blown around as if in a normal windstorm. It was as if her long time away from a desert had knocked the ability of maneuvering out of her.

She let out a blast of fire at her enemy that was partly blown away by the sandstorm, yet hit its mark and scorched the other Flygon's tail. Sandsinger found, the next moment, herself toppling from the sky with wounds from the enemy Flygon's claws in her left wing. As she hit the sand, all went black.

* * *

"_I had to do it." _Tarragon said in apology. Sandsinger leered at the Flygon for a moment before looking at the small black pile he had offered her. When she had woken back up, she'd found that her wing was still hurting, the sand still blowing, and the Flygon still there. He had moved her away from the groaning sound, to the outskirts of the desert where the sand was not blowing as bad. _"At least now you're safe, little one."_

Sandsinger found that the black pile was more interesting to look at than the male Flygon that had introduced himself as Tarragon, _"Thanks for the desert flies." _She said, in desperate need of a new subject as she crunched down on one of the hard-shelled flies.

"_It's no problem for a pretty female like you…" _

"_You sound like Mellow, do you know that?" _Sandsinger laughed and imagined having a male follow her around everywhere she went. The image was very interesting to her...

"_Who?"_

"_Mellow… Star-bird's-" _She thought hard at what Star-bird had last called Mellow. Finally, the right word came to mind, _"-Thorn. They're two birds; I'm friends with Star-bird."_

"_And a human too, I'd bet?" _Tarragon cocked his head to one side and looked her over very carefully, _"You smell of them."_

"_Yup! My human's name is Sara!" _Sandsinger exclaimed in reply. There was a pause, in which Tarragon held her in that thoughtful gaze, and she had to wonder what was going through his head. In the wild, Flygonwere rarer than sand was common. It wouldn't be hard to guess that all that get to the fully evolved stage will get harassed by trainers at one time or another.

"_I had a trainer once." _Tarragon finally said quietly. _"He was the best and worst thing that ever happened to me."_

She gave him an innocent look, in the hopes that the male Flygon would keep going. Instead, he turned his head away and looked off into the storm. _"Why does it bother you so much, the song of the storm?"_

"_The sound?" _Tarragon nodded, _"I dunno."_

"_It's been here ever since I came back and took the position of Desert Master. The sandstorm, it's never stopped blowing as long as the sound is heard. Most everything that lives in my desert is hostile and-"_

"_-Has glowing red eyes. There's a connection with that." _Sandsinger finished for him. She told him a little bit more about Sara, and watched as the Flygon's eyes widened below the red lenses that were always shielding against the sand.

"_You have a very special trainer." _He said, _"But perhaps you should bring her in and have her destroy these… black control bands?"_

"_She had trouble standing in this storm. There's no way that she could help."_

"_And that's why you left your human outside of the sandstorm where she's waiting for you even now?"_

"_Exactly." _Sandsinger sighed and stood, flexing her wings testingly and tried to fly. Her right wing was fine, but the left absolutely refused to hold any weight. _"This is your fault."_

"_You're not the most cheerful gal, are you?" _Tarragon teased.

"_I'm normally very cheerful, thank you." _She glared at him again, _"I guess it's just attack-happy males that get my blood boiling."_

"_I'm normally not attack-happy." _

"_Yes you are, be quiet. You see, I'm stuck here now and have to walk back to my trainer. Unless… you can deliver a message?" _The male Flygon's face broke out into a very wide smile and he nodded.


	28. Flygon Training

Yeah, I think this chapter may seem dull at times but… here's chapter 28!

Digital Shaman, I'm glad you think so.

Skitty-san, is this quick enough? xD

And Moon, here's the next chapter, ahead of schedule this time!

**Chapter 28**

Sandsinger yawned and stretched her good wing. _"That was a nice nap." _She said to nobody in particular, as Tarragon had left a while ago with her message for Sara. She yawned again and saw a purple blur out of the corner of her eye. _"Hey!" _

The Crobat passing by was whipped back yet again by the winds. He looked down to see a Flygon waving and calling down. Shrugging, Crobat flitted down and landed on the hot sand behind a protective rock. _"Yeah?" _He asked impatiently, folding his wings over a piece of paper that had been tied to one of his back feet in the hopes it wouldn't be noticed.

"_Hi!" _Sandsinger beamed, _"What are you doing here?"_

"_Flying."_

"_That's cool. I can't fly right now; my wing is a bit hurt…"_

"_It looks as if something shredded it." _Crobat observed with a pointed smile.

"_Well, you're stuck here now." _Sandsinger pointed out as she sat down and delicately folded her wings down, _"The sandstorm's too rough to pass."_

"_Oh? I was doing quite fine before I came down here to talk to you." _

"_Don't get your feathers ruffed, you'll be just like Star-bird." _

"_I beg your pardon?"_

Sandsinger rolled her eyes. Why was it that everyone had no clue who Star-bird was? _"Star-bird," _she said slowly. _"My trainer Sara's Swellow."_

"_I have a message for a gal named Sara." _The Crobat lifted his wing and flashed the piece of paper. _"My own trainer said it was of utmost importance. So if you'll excuse me-"_

"_Wait!"_

"_What do you want now?" _Crobat stopped before he could even take off and glared at the Flygon.

"_What does the note say?" _Sandsinger inched forward and grabbed the paper before he could dart away. She fumbled with it for a while, her three fingers not working well serving more human purposes, and finally opened it with a big ripping sound.

"_You broke it." _The Crobat grumbled, _"Wonderful, now I have to go back. So can you even read human scribble Flygon?"_

"_I'm Sandsinger!" _She replied brightly, smoothing the note out and scanning it, her eyes crossing.

"_Well?"_

"_There's Sara!" _Sandsinger said cheerfully, pointing to the word 'that' and grinning. Crobat flitted over to hover over her head and looked down.

"_Uhhhh… I don't know what to say. At least I don't know how to read scribble."_

"_I'm multitalented!" _She grinned.

"_So what does the rest say, multitalented-one?" _Crobat was, for once, impressed. He had never met a Pokemon that could read English before.

Sandsinger crossed her eyes at the paper again and said, _"I don't know. Your trainer is writing in part gibberish."_

"_I'll take the note back now, thank you." _He accepted the paper back, _"The sandstorm's too rough for me, I'll be taking the long way around. Your trainer is on the other side of this sandstorm, correct?"_

"_Yup!" _She exclaimed, and Crobat nodded before putting the note in his mouth and flitting to the side of the sandstorm, and then ahead. Sandsinger watched him go, her smile slowly fading. She was alone again, and didn't like it.

* * *

The Flygon buzzed and tugged at Sara's arm playfully. "What's he saying?" She asked, looking to Elvina. 

Seeing the confused look on her friend's face, Elvina stepped forward and said to the male Flygon, "She can't understand you." Tarragon gave her a look that must have said: Well, duh!

She pulled him over away from the group and had a conversation with the Flygon for a while. Every once and a while, Elvina would gasp, or nod, and Tarragon would buzz his wings as if flying. Finally, she returned to the group with the Flygon sitting down a little bit away.

"This is Tarragon." She waved a hand at the male Flygon, who watched the humans with one eye. "He claims he's some sort of leader in this desert. Like a desert master or something. Anyway, Sandsinger sent him here with a message."

Sara nodded and Star chirruped, _"Well, why didn't she come herself?" _

"Because Star, he kinda ruined one of her wings…"

"WHAT!"

Tarragon buzzed and shifted away from Sara a bit. "Sara, listen to me first. Alright, I'm guessing Tarragon thought his territory was being invaded, so he protected it. Sandsinger is just fine now, she's on the other side of the desert munching on her favorite food and being comfortable in the sand. She's fine Sara."

The blonde girl flashed Tarragon a very unpleasant glare, "So how are we going to get Sandsinger back here?"

Elvina was interrupted by the sound of hooves on hard earth as Alkie came to a stop next to Drake. Pocky jumped off, looking practically ecstatic, and her attention flicked to Tarragon. "Is it just me, or did Sandsinger grow?"

"Different Flygon." Drake said with a sigh, "Sandsinger's not here."

"Where is Sandsinger then? She owes me a-"

"Cro!" A purple burr swooped down on Sara; she squeaked and put her arms over her head.

Her friends were laughing when she looked up to see a Crobat hovering nearby, a mangled piece of paper in his jaws. She held out her hand and he dropped it into her palm. "It's from Maxie." She said after scanning the thing over once. "It says: 'To Sara and company: Our forces were kicked out of the desert by strange Pokemon. We've returned to Mount Chimney to find it swarming with rescue people and our base is ruined. There's no doubt that Team Magma will be blamed for this.'"

She had to stop to smooth down the sides of the note, across a wide rip and Crobat-tooth marks. "'There is good news though. I've managed to catch a little buddy of my own. We've split up all across Hoenn now, it was necessary. You will be able to find me in Mauville City with Tabitha, who's wearing a dress. Maxie, over and out.'"

"Wow." Drake commented, snickering slightly.

Sara continued to read and nearly fell over laughing, "There's more!" She exclaimed, "'P.S.: Tabitha looks hot in a dress!'"

She looked up just in time to see a very queer look on Pocky's face. It was gone in a second though, and she shrugged, "I wonder why he told me that…" She murmured, "This was addressed to me."

"Never mind it Sara." Pocky said, taking the note and placing it on Alkie's mane. The note didn't catch fire. "Hey, can you flame this?" She muttered softly into the horse's ear. Alkie snorted and her fiery mane set the note a-flame.

Crobat screeched and flew around in tight circles. Both Elvina and Pocky looked up at him, and finally Elvina said, "He said: Sandsinger can't read scribble after all!"

"You saw Sandsinger!" Sara exclaimed, jumping up and trying to snatch the bat out of the air. Crobat, surprised, was caught on one of his lower wings and dragged down.

"_Yes, now can you let me go?" _Star translated with a fluff of her feathers, _"No. We want to know about Sandsinger, idiot." _The Crobat said something to her, and she fluffed out even more, _"Yeah, that's what she calls me."_

Mellow woke up with a cheerful chirp. He took off after Star as she scratched her trainer's head ever so slightly when she pushed off. "Do you think Star really likes him?" Jacob asked, looking after the two Swellow as they flew around high above their heads. He was still on Alkie, rubbing her head affectionately.

Sara looked at him, then down at his steed, and had a crazy idea. "Hey Jacob." She grinned evilly. The boy looked up into her blue eyes and swallowed.

"Why do I think you're about to say something crazy?"

* * *

Alkie followed the blur that was Tarragon through the harsh winds of the sandstorm. Her movements, just like his, were completely unhindered by the storm. Sara held her head down to keep the sand away. The Go-Goggles didn't help to protect anything but her eyes, and sand stung. Jacob was in a similar position. 

"How much farther?" Sara screeched over the whistling of wind to Jacob.

"Not much!" He yelled back over his shoulder.

The four of them moved on for a while before the sandstorm gave off a little bit. Sitting a little bit away was none other than Sandsinger, her left wing folded in an awkward-looking position. Alkie came to a stop a little bit away from her, and Sara jumped off immediately and ran to her Pokemon. "Sandsinger!" She gasped taking in a mouthful of sand, but not caring, hugging the Flygon around her neck.

"_Sara! You wouldn't believe what I've been doing!" _Sandsinger replied, as bright and bubbly as ever.

"We heard a little from your new friend." She jerked a thumb back at where Tarragon was tamely standing, giving them both the strangest look. Alkie turned around; Jacob called a farewell to his Pokemon. She would return with Elvina and Pocky soon, and then Drake with the two un-captured Pokemon afterwards. Rio had decided to leave their company to adventure on his own. He would eventually run across Devon and Rena, and tell them of Alkie, the two of them would eventually be the last to cross the desert.

Sandsinger grinned when Sara mentioned her 'new friend' and waved at the aloof Flygon. He blinked once and nodded, flashing a Flygon-smile. _"I told you about desert flies, didn't I? Want one?"_

Her trainer refused very quickly, "Uh… no thanks Sandsinger, you can enjoy them." She stammered out, "Come on, this sand is rubbing my legs raw."

Jacob and Sara flanked the Flygon as she got up and spread her wings, flinching slightly, protecting their backs from the wind. At least they didn't fall over because of that. Sandsinger shook off at least a pound of sand from her body and wings when they were a good distance away from the sandstorm.

Alkie whinnied as she came back around with Elvina and Pocky, both girls covered in sand by the time they were out of the sandstorm. "That was fun!" Pocky exclaimed happily, patting the fire horse's neck affectionately.

Elvina gasped the fresh air in and sighed, "I can't believe what you say sometimes Pocky." She stated, shaking her head to get a bit of sand out of the blue locks of her hair.

"_Hey, look at that!" _Sandsinger pointed with a clawed finger at lady in a tight mauve skirt, her shirt white under a matching mauve vest. She was pointing a microphone at a young trainer that was looking quite pale and nervous. It was probably because of the TV camera that was pointed his way by another man that was hidden behind the camera.

"Uh, TV people." Jacob said blankly and shifted away from the group slowly. "We'll be on TV if we pass by them. And I'd think that would be a bad thing, don't you guys? Hello Sara, you've got like tons of people that would love to get their claws on you!"

Sara chewed her lip, "You're right, we should stay here." She sighed, "Wait for Drake and the rest to get here."

"Drake's already here." The said person jumped off Alkie's back and walked up to them. "What's up guys?"

Jacob motioned to the two interrogating the boy trainer. "That's what's up. We can't go any farther until they leave."

"Hey, that's one of the traveling battle pairs for Pokenews Live!" Drake exclaimed, "They battle trainers and put the battle on TV!"

He stepped forward and was caught on the arm by Pocky, "Don't you get it kid? We can't be seen on TV! You'd be like a beacon to the guy… Dominus… since you're always with his enemy!"

Her glare was so fierce that Drake took a step back and swallowed, "Sorry." He mumbled, going to stand next to Sara. "You know, that reminds me Sara. We should battle soon again; I want to prove I'm still a better trainer than you!"

"You're on Drake!" She exclaimed, keeping her voice down just enough it couldn't be heard by the reporter. Yet the reporter and cameraman seemed to be done, and they were moving on, towards Mauville Town. Sandsinger twitched her good wing, making a high-pitched buzzing sound, in annoyance.

"_I can't fight like this!" _She scolded them both.

"Yes, we know, but…" Sara stepped forward and whispered in her Pokemon's ear, "I think he's jealous that I have a full-fledged Flygon and none of his Pokemon have evolved to a third-form."

Sandsinger looked away for just a second when Sara mentioned her as a 'full-fledged Flygon' and flapped her right wing again, _"He'll be put in his place, eh?"_

"Exactly." Her trainer mumbled and looked up when Alkie announced herself again with Devon and a very ruffled-looking Rena on her back. Perhaps it was because Devon was sitting behind her, his arms locked around her waist.

"You know, I wonder why she doesn't slap him." Elvina muttered to Pocky, who got the most amused look all of a sudden.

"She does hit him, sometimes." She muttered back, "When he does something like that, actually. Don't be surprised."

Elvina laughed silently and grinned with the sweating form of Alkie came over and butted her chest. The horse seemed to forget about her quickly though, when Jacob clicked his tongue, she came prancing over to him and accepted a carrot slice.

Rena stood beside Sara and glared at her stalker over the smaller girl's head. "So are we moving on or what?" She asked with a tone of grumpiness in her voice.

"Sure, but we should return all our Pokemon. The news reporters ahead won't think we're trainers if we don't have any Pokemon out." Elvina said, with a small sigh.

Sandsinger went into her Pokeball without complaint when Sara recalled her. The only problem was Fiendre, who kept telling them he had enough of moving that day. Eventually, he was put over Devon's shoulder and carried along, Sara cowering slightly next to Elvina on the other side of the reporters to not be spotted.

They passed without being bothered and walked the last strip of grass with most of their Pokemon out. Squee and Meep had cried out happily when they were released and were playing, as usual, but this time attacking and ruffling up Karen, who they found to be really fun to play with. _"Little terrorists." _Star muttered looking down her beak at the two fluff-balls and the Espeon that was actually daring to have fun with them.

"Aw, cheer up Star." Sara said cheerfully, "At least you aren't down there getting your feathers ripped out."

"_You really know how to make me feel just wonderful, don't you?" _Star said sassily and avoided the gentle push her trainer would have given her to make the Swellow fall by flying up. Instead of being attacked by two kittens, she was attacked by a yellow-chested Swellow. 'Thorn' offered her a branch of berries and followed 'Berry' around until she accepted them.

In Mauville City, a lady with long red hair stopped in front of Sara when she was half-way to the Pokemon Center. "Good day, welcome to Mauville." She said, winking at her. Tabitha's dress was long, flowing, and quite tight. Maxie's comment seemed to fit her well, Sara decided.

Tabitha followed the group into the Center, grinning and flirting with Drake, who didn't recognize her at all. Sandsinger and Alkie were the only Pokemon that weren't returned to their trainers almost immediately. It turned out the fire horse had torn a muscle running.

"Hey Sara!" Maxie, surprisingly strange-looking in a normal white shirt and black pants, exclaimed as he walked over to her and Drake, who were setting up where and when their battle would be. She looked up and giggled gently at the red-haired man's appearance.

"We got your note." Sara said when he sat down across from her on a cushion, "The P.S. got some attention."

"Hey, that wasn't Tabitha, was it?" Drake asked blankly.

"Yes, dim one, that was Tabitha." Sara replied, rolling her eyes. The boy looked over and goggled at the lady in a dress that he just recognized.

"She-but-gosh! Tabitha is hot is hot in a dress." Drake said, smiling after the lady. Pocky was walking by and she happened to 'accidentally' hit him over the head.

Maxie was grinning wickedly, "I'm glad. And I meant every word of it too."

"What was that about a 'little buddy' Maxie?"

He pulled out a Pokeball, "See for yourself!" Maxie exclaimed happily, releasing a Squee onto his lap. Meep and Squee stopped in mid-tumble and stared at the little kitten in Maxie's lap for a second. It looked like Maxie had had fun with his Squee; there was a black and red collar around his neck with the Team Magma symbol hanging off the side.

"You finally caught a Squee!" Sara exclaimed, grinning as the kitten finally saw the two others playing around and scampered over to them.

"_HI!" _Meep exclaimed. He and Maxie's Squee sniffed each other for a second before the tumbling resumed, with three kittens instead of two this time. Maxie watched this all and a smile spread across his pale face.

"They make friends quickly, don't they?" He murmured.

"_Everyone's a friend when you're a Squee or a baby Naki." _Karen said as she yawned and sat down in her trainer's lap.

Maxie chuckled, and Sara looked up, "You understood her?"

"Well, yeah."

Sara blinked down at her Pokemon, waiting for her to explain. _"Psychic Pokemon can make themselves heard by anyone." _Karen purred.

Maxie talked to them a bit more, still talking in a light voice. His mood seemed to be good, until they got onto the subject of Mount Chimney. "They've been reporting about it for hours now." He said with a sigh, "It's already common knowledge by now that Team Magma's base was in there, and of course we have been blamed for it many times over the air." He shook his head, "The reporters need someone to blame, and we're it."

His sour look was ruined when Meep fell over into his lap, being chased there by his own Squee. Meep giggled, _"I'm it! You'd better run Puff!" _

Puff, Maxie's Squee, giggled right back and darted off, Meep at his tail. Squee was the next to be 'it' as Meep found her curled up and purring on Rena's lap.

That night, Sandsinger was released from the nurse's care with Alkie, her right wing bandaged up tightly. _"She says it'll be able to hold my weight again in a couple of days." _She informed her trainer as she stretched out and sat down with her tail curled around her legs.

The Flygon turned her head to look at her trainer in the eyes and smiled slightly, _"Can I go outside? I'd say to stretch my wings, but that's kinda impossible. Maybe just for a little fresh air?"_

"Sure Sandsinger." Sara nodded, "But be sure to come back soon, alright?"

* * *

"_I'm glad you're worried about me." _Sandsinger told the other Flygon at the back of the Pokemon Center. She had heard him call her for a while now, and it was just now that she had been able to come out. 

Tarragon smothered a yawn with one clawed hand, _"Are you alright, little Flygon?" _He asked, _"Is there something wrong?"_

"_Wrong? Oh, nothing's wrong." _She replied, shuffling her feet nervously.

It appeared that Tarragon wasn't fooled, _"I've been watching you, and there is something wrong. Care to tell me about it?"_

"_Well…" _Sandsinger started, biting her claw nervously, _"My trainer things I'm such a powerful Pokemon. She… acts like I'm undefeatable, and I'm not. As you've proven yourself."_

"_And this bothers you because you're not living up to what your trainer thinks of you?"_

"_Exactly." _Sandsinger nodded, _"And I hate to let her down so often, in battles when I lose all the time and when I can't even do what one of my own kind can…"_

Tarragon sighed heavily as he sat down with his back leaning against a fence board. Sandsinger joined him as he said, _"Sandsinger, every Pokemon has a weakness. Every Pokemon fights a battle and loses it sometimes. It's unfortunate, but it's true."_

"_But I can't even fly in a sandstorm without being blown around!"_

"_That we can work on." _Tarragon replied, _"Perhaps I can help you after all. Come visit me when you wing's healed, I just got an idea."_

* * *

It took Sandsinger a long time, but she finally convinced Sara and her friends that saying in Mauville City to rest was a good idea. Sandsinger's wing healed up to the point that it was fully usable again in two days, and she even got permission to visit Tarragon alone. Things were going perfect, and she reported to Tarragon the second she could. 

She had to fly around the desert, riding against the winds, for a while before Tarragon found her. _"I only had to make enough sound to wake up the whole desert, right?" _She asked, in high spirits as the two Flygon touched down on a place that was devoid of anything but the two of them and sand.

"_We won't be bothered here." _Tarragon said when he saw her looking around, _"Welcome, young Sandsinger, to Flygon training!"_

"_I think we have about five days to work on this. Until we have to move on…" _Sandsinger told him as she stretched her wings in preparation.

"_Wonderful!" _Tarragon said, _"Now, today we'll tackle our surroundings. Also known as: the sandstorm. First let's fly around a bit and see a little more of your problem."_

They took off, Sandsinger in the lead and fighting the winds to stay aloft. The other Flygon followed her at ease, flying circles around her to see Sandsinger's flying at all possible angles. When they finally landed again, she was breathing heavily already. _"Do you always fly like that?" _That was the first thing he asked her, his tail lashing from side to side in slight annoyance.

"_What? Of course I always fly like that." _

"_Then we've already found your problem. Follow me." _He took flight again and led her out of the desert and onto a towering figure of rock. _"Your wings get all tangled up. Here, spread them like this." _Tarragon demonstrated, unfolding his wings so that they were straight out on both sides.

Sandsinger attempted and failed. Her wings wouldn't open past a sixty degree angle. _"Here, let me help you." _Tarragon said kindly as he took hold of both her wings at once and _pulled_.

"_OUCH! Ow, ow-ow-ow!" _She groaned as her wings were finally in the right position.

"_Uh-huh." _Tarragon nodded when her wings were correct. _"Now flap."_

"_I… can't." _Sandsinger said, trying to get her wings to move, yet they wouldn't obey. They were stuck in the correct position, and wouldn't budge. Yet again, Tarragon 'helped' her and loosened the tight muscles of her straining wings by way of pressure. It _hurt_.

"_Can we stop now?" _She asked hopefully when she finally demonstrated the correct way of flapping her wings. Tarragon shook his head.

"_We're just getting started, little Flygon!" _He laughed, _"Now you've got to fly around like that, not with your wings half-folded."_

She snorted at him. _"Is that even-" _Tarragon took off and beckoned for her to follow before she even got the chance to finish. They weren't flying in the sandstorm anymore, and for that Sandsinger was glad. But this new way of flying was much more tiring than the old way that she was used to.

Half-way through the day, Tarragon called a break and brought out some more desert flies for a reward for the wing-sore Sandsinger. _"You're doing well." _He complimented when she took the flies with her thanks.

"_Yeah, but why do I have to be re-taught how to fly anyway?" _She asked, crunching down on one of the little hard-shelled bugs with a content smile.

"_I would think you've taught yourself the way you were flying. Perhaps because you've been ridden by humans and that way seemed to get less wind in their faces. I don't really know. Whatever it is, humans can ride on your back no matter how you fly, young Sandsinger."_

"_How old are you?" _Sandsinger continued to pester, as she relaxed her overworked wings, _"You call me little and young all the time…"_

"_Older than you." _He supplied with a shrug, _"I know that."_

Sandsinger snorted again, _"Yeah, sure."_

"_I'm bigger than you."_

"_You're supposed to be."_

"_I suppose you have a point. Come on, this is enough break." _Tarragon nodded when she groaned and flitted into the sky again.

Sandsinger bid him a good-bye later when the sun was going down. He did insist on accompanying her back to the Pokemon Center, to make sure she flied correctly. At least that was the reason he said. _"Bye young Sandsinger. Tomorrow's another day!" _Tarragon laughed and flitted away, but first gave her a quick Flygon-hug. She was sorry to see him go.

She was exhausted by the time she had finished her dinner, and Sara kept asking her what she was going. _"Nothing Sara, just hanging around with friends." _The Flygon kept answering. Apparently, that wasn't helping her trainer any.

"But… oh, never mind. I suppose you're going tomorrow too?" Sara continued. For what felt like the hundredth time, Sandsinger nodded to the question.

"_I'm going to sleep now." _She informed her trainer, _"Good night."_

The next morning, Sandsinger uncurled from the awkward position she had been sleeping in and found herself nose-to-snout with none other than the grumpy Houndoom that seemed to always have ignored the cheerful Flygon until now. Fiendre shook his head when she opened her mouth to say something and jerked his tail to point at the door. She understood what he meant and went outside with him.

It was still dark, the sun was about to come up. _"I've been curious ever since you left. Kid, what were you doing out there yesterday?" _Fiendre asked abruptly.

"_Why is everyone older than me now?" _Sandsinger asked, more to herself, _"I was with Tarragon."_

"_I beg your pardon?"_

"_You know-the male Flygon." _She was getting nervous about the agitated tone he was starting to take.

"_And what were you doing with this male Flygon?"_

"_Alright, who put you up to asking me this?" _

"_If you must know, it was the curly-haired boy." _Fiendre answered. _"I really don't care, so tell me whatever you please."_

Sandsinger got a very wide smile, _"Tell Drake that Tarragon is lonely and I'm his only friend."_

Fiendre snickered, _"Will do." _He turned and walked into the Pokemon Center again. Eventually, Sandsinger followed him and ate a quick breakfast that the Nurse Joy served her. By that time, everyone was awake and Drake was grinning secretively at her, probably from what he had been told by Fiendre and translated by another of his own Pokemon.

She bid her friends good-bye and flitted off, not even realizing she was doing it the correct way, to go find Tarragon. This time, he flew into her. _"Oh, 'ello little Flygon! And would you look at that?" _He grinned when she looked back at her wings and realized for the first time what that meant.

"_I didn't even notice!" _She exclaimed.

"_Good! You're not supposed to. Come on, today for Flygon training, we're going into the sandstorm."_

The day proceeded with Sandsinger getting roughed around by the desert winds. When she returned to the Center that night, she was doubly exhausted, this time flying correctly with harsh winds added.

On the third day of Flygon training, Tarragon was smiling sadly, _"You remember the song of the desert, right?" _He asked. Sandsinger nodded, she had still heard the groaning sound every time they went into the desert. _"Well, today we're going to destroy it."_

"_You mean…?"_

"_Yup little Flygon. The song is a living, breathing thing."_

"_But are you sure-"_

"_I'm positive Sandsinger." _Tarragon replied, giving her a firm glance, _"It is nothing to be afraid about, I guess, as you have said. So, come on, I think it's waiting for us." _And he proceeded to flit away into the sandstorm, Sandsinger following nervously. From everything that he had said about this 'song' over the past couple of days, he made it out as a fearsome thing. But perhaps, she reflected, he wanted another with him to tackle it down and regain control of his desert completely. And she was proud to help.


	29. Sundav's True Colors

I'm sure you all want to know why this is so late. In two words: I'm moving. My thoughts have been a jumbled bunch of nonsense for so long that no one would want to read something written by me in that time. This was written when my thoughts came straight, and that's all I have to say. 

Something random that might interest you, I've started a Pokemon role playing site. (It's a Proboard…) The link to it is my homepage on my look-up.

I'm really glad you like my stories, Kitsune, and honored that you took the time to read this one! You want to see some Sara/Drake eh? Well, they're both ten and not exactly thinking that way yet… xD Well, thanks for your review!

And I thank Moon and Skitty-san for their reviews as well! Here's the new chapter, I hope you all like it!

**Chapter 29**

"_Why are we doing this again?" _Gryff asked the Swellow perching on her back as they hid inside a big bush. The two Flygon were just leaving after talking about some sort of 'song.'

"_Because." _Star sighed, _"Sara wants to know what they're doing out here, and you're here for the ride. And this gets me away from Mellow."_

Gryff rolled out of the bush, laughing hard, _"MELLOW! Oh gosh, I thought you were here because of something more important than that!"_

"_Getting away from Mellow is important." _Star tweeted simply.

"_What's up with you two anyway?"_

"_None of your-"_

"_Oh Ber-ry!" _The familiar male voice sang sweetly.

"_Oh no-oh!" _Star took off behind Sandsinger and Tarragon with Mellow on her tail and Gryff barking with laughter, bringing up the rear.

* * *

"_That's it?" _Sandsinger asked breathlessly as they landed on a dry patch of desert. A vast creature stood just feet from her, his voice rising in the agitated moaning that she'd been hearing for the longest time. His eyes glinted red from deep in his skull. 

"_This is it." _Her companion kept his wings unfolded as he took a cautious step forward. Immediately the creature jumped to life, his huge arm swinging around to meet Tarragon's jaw.

From above the familiar figure of Sundav watched with growing interest as a battle started between the red-eyed Tyranitar and the two Flygon. _"Surely they do not hope to destroy the evil inside of him." _She murmured to herself, keeping still as a statue. The light bird's feathers were all sorts of brilliant colors now that she'd restored most of her powers. But it still wasn't enough…

Sandsinger beat on the creature's back with her tail, causing just enough annoyance for him that he grabbed her by the arm and tossed her into Tarragon. Both fell over in a crumpled heap in front of the beast, which roared his defiant win over them both. It was then that Sundav opened her wings and decided to kiss her newly gained powers good-bye. Doing something good would always kill part of her energy and strength…

But that was when she noticed something strange about Sandsinger. The female Flygon got to her feet and slowly stalked towards the Tyranitar, her face a mask of a new emotion to her. Fierce anger. When the Flygon spoke, her voice seemed to ring out over the desert sands as if they were in a hollow mountain, _"Song of the desert, you no longer rule this place. You have a weakness somewhere, and I intend to find it!"_

She jumped skyward just as Sundav closed her wings in. Perhaps there was something to this Flygon… Sundav watched in shock as the last creature she would ever expect to have the power to destroy dark control bands used it. Sandsinger's claws glowed a bright, shining blue for only a moment as they came down hard across her enemy's head and chest, slashing right through the problem source.

Tyranitar stood with his eyes turning back their normal color for just a moment while the desert winds gave one last, deep sigh and gave out completely. He also gave one little breath out before falling over and Sundav could have sworn that it was, _"Thank you."_

Sandsinger blinked down at him for a moment, utterly bewildered at what happened. She had felt like she was asleep for a bit, and now the creature creating the song of the desert was fainted at her feet. The Flygon looked down at her claws once, and passed out, out of sheer exhaustion.

"_That was… interesting." _Sundav clicked her beak just as three forms touched down around her.

"_SUNDAV!" _Both Mellow and Star exclaimed, then the two of them realized they did that and Star jumped aside of her lover.

"_Who's Sundav?" _Gryff asked, looking confused, _"The pretty birdie?"_

Sundav gave a very large sigh, _"Yes, me the pretty birdie. I am Sundav."_

"_Look, there's Sandsinger and Tarragon!" _Mellow chirruped, pointing with one of his talons, _"What the?"_

Sundav was left alone again as the three flitted down to where there were two fainted Flygon and an unfamiliar Tyranitar. She clicked her beak again as the three of them didn't even notice the sands had disappeared. _"Young and foolish." _She snorted, _"Just like I was…"_

The desert was eerily quiet when Star, Gryff, and Mellow left to retrieve their trainers. A single blow of wind disturbed the sands and Sundav's wings, but it was easily ignored. That is, until she saw what it was writing in the sand. _Your powers have been split and sorted, the most of them aborted. Life goes on and you are half. You seek the one who sings all the time, the one under your nose. Beware the one who is not small, but smaller._

"'_Not small… but smaller…'" _The bird of light shook her head, stumped. _"Great Mew, when you give me the gift of your wisdom, please make sure it makes sense."_

Another wind blew, this time it wrote: _You're still a ditz Sundav. Look the place where you find the obvious._

Sundav made a little objection to the first sentence as she did what Mew told her, looked under her nose. Down at Sandsinger and Tarragon, the two of them fainted on their bellies. _Not small. _Her gaze lingered on Sandsinger, then moved to the male Flygon. _But smaller._

"_You mean… oh forget it. The prophecy of Lady Sara's Pokemon!" _She waited for the wind to blow a teasing _yes _before continuing, _"Why didn't you tell me this before!"_

_Fun to watch you. It is time Sundav, and you know it to be true. _The wind died down and the last word was barely readable. Sundav nodded once and the words etched into the sand were blown away as if they never existed, just as Lady Sara and her friends came charging over to where she was.

"_It is about time I made a real entrance." _Sundav turned around and disappeared in a flash of golden light.

* * *

"So that's what you've really been doing?" Sara asked when Sandsinger finished her narration. Her trainer was looking very pale as she nodded. It was the beginnings of nighttime, and she was wide awake. 

"_You worried us sick!" _Star-bird was sitting next to the Flygon, silently admitting that they were really actually friends, no matter what. It was a silent bond that they had formed, and Star worked very hard not to let it show.

"_Sorry… I don't know what happened…" _Sandsinger stammered, just as a ray of golden light hit the foot of her bed. _"Cool!"_

"_I know what happened." _Sundav sat daintily on the edge, her feathers a vibrant display of colors. Sandsinger wasn't the only one staring at her and her new look. Sundav had adopted a crest of feathers on the top of her head.

"What happened!" Sara finally asked when a second passed silently.

"_I must speak to Sandsinger alone, if you will Lady." _Sundav didn't look at her, just said that with a dismissing flick of her wing. Sara knew it for what it was and murmured a good-bye to Sandsinger as she got up and left. _"You too Star."_

"_Why me too?" _Star asked stubbornly.

"_I want to take to Sandsinger in private."_

"_But I saw what happened too."_

"_Oh really? What happened?"_

"_Sandsinger fought that thing and won! I saw the winning strike!"_

"_You didn't see what happened."_

"_Yes I did."_

"_Go away Star."_

"_No."_

"_Fine! You can stay!" _Sundav ruffled her feathers impatiently at the Swellow as she cheered.

"_Did either Gryff or your mate see what you have?"_

"_He's not my mate!" _Star snapped, not missing a beat. _"But no, they didn't."_

"_I'm not as blind as you think, little one." _Sundav replied calmly.

"_Star-bird, do you want her to kick you out?" _Sandsinger interjected when the Swellow opened her mouth to retort to that. Star promptly closed her beak with a snap and gave Sundav a level glare.

"_Alright, here are the basics of it all." _Sundav sighed, _"I'm a legendary who has had her powers split and everything you can think of has been done to them. I've found every little bit left of them, except for one. And the powers I'm looking for take the color of blue. See how my feathers don't have any blue?"_

She paused as both Pokemon squinted at her feathers. Sundav was right; of course, the only color not there was blue. There was none of that color at all. _"You're right." _Star finally twittered.

"_Of course I'm right, I'm always right." _Sundav laughed when she squawked a retort.

"_What does this have to do with me though?" _The Flygon asked softly, as her chest probably hurt from talking. She'd been given a bad bruise across her chest from that battle.

"_You used the power of my Touch to destroy that Tyranitar's dark control band. Doesn't it make sense? You glowed blue before and don't remember it either, correct?" _She went on when Sandsinger nodded and after she stifled a cough, _"Sandsinger, you have the last bit of my lost powers. With your help I can become my normal self again."_

"_I see why you didn't want me here." _Star twittered obtrusively.

Sandsinger was opening and closing her mouth like a Magicarp. Finally, she managed to gasp, _"But why didn't I know I'm special!"_

"_That's the problem. We'll never know." _Sundav shrugged and coughed again weakly, _"So are you going to help me Sandsinger?"_

"_Do I have a choice?" _Sandsinger asked with a bright smile.

* * *

The shock of losing control over the Hoenn desert told Dominus two things. One, Sara was still alive. Two, she was around that area. He snickered to himself as he rode the beast Catastrofate that idiotically was giving him a ride. "No experience, ah brother?" He asked without explaining his question. His 'brother' snuffled agreement, not knowing a thing. 

At night Slateport City was quite empty. Perfect for the kind of magic Dominus intended to do. He spread his arms wide and a dark cloud appeared over the city. When the inhabitants woke up and breathed that air, they would magically remember that there was going to be a tournament the next day and would quickly send out fliers and prepare for it. They would also find that everything they needed for it was right there. The perfect bait.

* * *

"There's going to be a tournament in Slateport tomorrow!" Rena exclaimed, as she read the fliers that were going out to everyone in the Pokemon Center. "Yessss!" 

"Perfect! Dorovi does need some exercise…" Drake patted his Pokemon, who opened one eye from his nap on the cool floor, groaned at his annoying trainer, and fell back to sleep. "Lazy lump." He continued playfully.

"_I need some exercise too you know." _Karen purred to everyone, using her psychic powers to be heard.

"It's not a good idea." Maxie, of course, was the only one in their group that could see beyond the battling and prizes of the tournament. "What happens if Team Aqua are there?"

"Maxie has the right idea." Solorite said softly, "We should not go."

"But we'll cream them!" Pocky exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Woopa!" Woop whooped.

"But-"

"Hey Maxie," Tabitha said in a flirty tone, she was still wearing the dress disguise. Maxie was 'accidentally' kicked by Pocky when he turned and stared dreamily at her. "I think Puff wants to play."

Indeed, Puff was giving his trainer very wide, cute eyes. In truth, it was because Devon was dangling a fish over Maxie's head, but it was enough to get the old Team Magma leader's heart to melt. He went over to Puff and forgot all about the conversation.

"So what are we waiting for?" Elvina asked with Huan in her arms, "Let's go!"

Sandsinger, with her chest bound with white bandages, buzzed her agreement to the statement. She giggled when Meep and Squee climbed her tail and sat on her back.

"_I sense something is not right here Lady." _Sundav also was going to try to spoil this, _"Dominus has been quiet for a long while, and I think his presence is near…"_

"His 'presence' can get lost." Rena growled, "And so can he, for that matter."

Sundav gave a weak laugh, _"That is not how it works."_

"It never is…"

The Flygon Tarragon poked his head out of the recovery room door with a blackened eye. He flitted his wings to let off a couple of notes and smiled crookedly at Nurse Joy before leaving the Pokemon Center. As Sara looked to her Pokemon with a questioning look, Althea looked up from her own nap and yawned. _"He was saying good-bye to us and thanking the nurse."_

"You all can go to this little tournament, but I'm not coming along." Solorite was saying stubbornly, "It is foolishness!"

"_Agreed." _Sundav nodded, but a strange look crossed her eyes for a moment. _"But we should go anyway."_

"_I thought you said we weren't supposed to be going." _Karen lashed her silver tail impatiently, _"What is it then?"_

"_I may be stupid, no don't look at me like that Solorite! But I just got an idea. Let us get to Slateport." _

* * *

"My name is Sara Wellington from Elemental Ridge." Sara was saying to the attendant, who wrote it down very quickly. 

"The three Pokemon you're entering?" She prompted.

"Star the Swellow, Sandsinger the Flygon, and Karen the Espeon." Sara answered quickly and received a little tag from the female attendant that said all of the information she'd need about the tournament.

"Anything else you're entering in, miss?"

Sara took her Swellow off her head and looked up at what all the things to enter were. In golden letters blazed the words: The Slateport Cup, at the top of the screen. "The race with Star the Swellow." She said and bit her lip, "And… put Sandsinger the Flygon in there too… that's it!"

She received a nametag and flitted over to where Elvina, Rena, and Devon were waiting. They had already gotten their nametags and stuff, Elvina's Pokemon were going up for another round in the talent show. (Elvina still wouldn't say what Huan's special talent was, she was determined not to ever since the first time they'd met Dominus.)

"We're taking you down Sara." Drake flashed his card at her with his three Pokemon on it.

"Yeah, right! We'll clean your clock!"

"_And take lover-boy down in the process." _Star added.

"What do you mean, I can't enter with just one Pokemon!" Pocky was yelling at the tortured-looking attendant.

"Well, you can't. It wouldn't be fair to you. We've got plenty other contests you can enter though…" The silver-haired girl shook her head and stormed over to where her friends were waiting.

"That solves that." Jacob came after her, looking depressed.

They traveled to where the trainers were supposed to go to get their Pokemon ready. It was the day where the first events were starting, like the start of the tournament. Sara and Drake had already found out, by the numbers on their tags, that they'd be fighting each other in the second match. It was all going perfectly.

Solorite watched all the eager humans with a scowl very unlike him. "This is foolishness." He grumbled Althea, who was snuggled up next to him.

"_Tell them that, and they'll just try to catch you." _She murmured.

"Exactly as I was thinking."

Star, on the other hand, was having difficulties with Mellow. _"I'm going to whack you so hard across your head that… ooh, terrorist! You're just a big terrorist!" _She snapped at him.

"_I don't want to fight you." _Mellow said, ignoring Star's threats as always, _"We make beautiful music together…"_

"_Shove it lover-boy." _She grumbled.

"_No." _Mellow tweeted, _"I'm not going to."_

"_Yes you are."_

"_No I'm not, Berry."_

"_Yes you are, Thorn."_

"_No I'm not, Star-bird."_

"_Yes you are, Mellow-boy."_

"_No I'm not, Snuggly."_

"_Yes you are, TERRORIST!"_

With that Star retreated to a defensive position on top of her harassed trainer's head. "I only heard half of that."

"It was a lot of 'yes you are' and 'no I'm not,' you didn't miss much." Elvina said airily.

"I sometimes wonder about the two of them." Jacob shook his head when Star snapped at her lover-boy.

"I'd better go take her for a walk…" Sara made a face at the people staring at the two fighting Swellow, gave a very ruffled Mellow back to Drake, and retreated.

"_I don't like him." _Star said when they got a good distance away from the trainer's area.

"Why not? He seems like a nice guy. Remember Shard calling him a gentleman?"

"_He's no gentleman." _Star grumbled.

"We'll never know why you don't like him, will we?"

"_Nope." _Star would have said more, but an old lady beckoned to the little blonde girl with a Swellow on her head, smiling.

"Good day, young lady! What a fine bird you have there!" She exclaimed, holding her head out, "May I see her?"

Star squawked when her trainer took her off her warm perch and placed her in front of the old lady. "How do you know Star is a she? I didn't tell you that."

"You see the tips of her wings? They're much longer in a female than in a male." She traced a finger over Star's two tail feathers and smiled, "She's in very good condition."

"_I'm not an action figure."_

"Very good training she's gotten so far. Has… Star learned Endeavor?"

"_I can answer for myself. No, that attack is stupid."_

"I beg your pardon?" Sara asked over her Swellow's voice.

"Screaming really loudly."

"No, she hasn't done that yet…" Sara sighed, "But every once and a while she uses Double Team on her stalker."

"Ah, a stalker. Most Swellow get one eventually… you see, I used to be an expert in breeding birds. The sight of this Swellow brings back so many memories… so I've decided to help you two out! I'm going to teach Star the ultimate flying-type move!"

"Really?" Sara's eyes widened in surprise, "Well, that would be awesome!"

"_Does it hurt?" _Star asked, and her trainer translated this time.

"Oh, no it doesn't. You'll have to be very careful about using it though, this attack causes a big explosion…" The old lady broke off and bit her lip, "Have you ever seen a bird use Sky Attack? It's very beautiful."

"Sky Attack, eh? Naw, haven't seen that one. It must be really rare."

"It is darling, it is. Now Star, you'll need to eat this…" She held out a handful of white pills to Star and smiled, "And there's something else. Your inner strength holds the power to use this attack. Without it, you're sunk kid."

"_I can do that." _Star began to snap the pills into the air and swallowing them whole.

"Ah, I'll be watching you two battle. Good luck child!" Sara waved and expressed her thanks as Star finished off her swallowing. Running quickly, she went to go gloat about something her Swellow knew that Drake's didn't. Seeing as Pokemon sometimes learn attacks by pills and machines, they'd believe her.

But nobody was there. _"What happened to all the trainers?" _Star demanded of Solorite, who was still sitting there, and woke him up. The Absol grumbled angrily and jerked his head out the door.

"It started." He muttered and, curling up, fell back to sleep.

"We're late because of you Star." Sara teased her Pokemon as they ran to the makeshift stadium that had been set up in the last two days.

"_No, we're late because you wanted me to learn a new attack. I already tried to use it, and it's not even there." _Star twittered with annoyance in her tone, _"Not even a little explosion… darn…"_

Sara laughed, "You just want to blow stuff up Star!"

"_Sure do."_

Sara skidded to a stop in front of the same attendant and demanded, "Where do I battle?"

"Sara Wellington… your first battle's in three minutes in grass portion of the stadium."

"Thanks!" She scuttled around to the entrance to the stadium and ran to get to her battle on time. The stadium was divided into four parts, where four different battles went on at once.

"And the second challenger has arrived just in time!" Yelled an announcer when the breathless Sara got to her side of the field with Star on her head still. An impatient-looking boy in bright yellow shorts and a blue top that really did not match stood on the other side. "May the battle between Sara Wellington of Elemental Ridge and Rocky Crocker of Hoenn begin!"

"Go, Ninjask!" The boy threw a Pokeball to reveal the ninja-like bug Pokemon who flitted into the field immediately.

"You're up Star." Sara murmured and the bird leapt skyward from her head. Both of the Pokemon were fast, Ninjask moving as a hard-to-see blur, and Star catching up to him, making it look easy with fast strokes of her wings.

Wing and claw hit when both Pokemon, easily matched for speed, attacked each other. Star swept back and cut along the bug's chest with her beak as she dived down. Ninjask exclaimed furiously and followed with heavy wing beats that buzzed angrily. His claw and her wing met again closer to the ground and it was Ninjask that had the advantage as he turned up before Star could do her maneuver again.

"Try a Quick Attack!" Sara yelled up to her Pokemon, who was literally slamming her wings to keep up with Ninjask now. It seemed that he was getting faster as the battle went on…

Star flapped hard once and soared on an air current to slam into the bug's back. With one last, angry cry, Ninjask fell from the sky as she'd managed to give his left wing a fairly large cut.

Hitting the ground hard, it was only the matter of Star's downbeat flap that knocked the bug out. The crowd exploded in praise for the fast little Swellow. "Return, Ninjask." Rocky Crocker bit his lip as he fumbled with a Pokeball, "Go, Arbok!"

The cobra Pokemon appeared with a serpentine hiss and Sara recalled her Pokemon, who came to perch on her head again. Star was feeling hot; if she was a human she'd be sweating hard. "Go, Karen!" She appeared with a happy cry.

With the wave of a flag that signaled the start of the match between the two again, Karen lunged at Arbok and got hit across her head by his descending tail. "Body Slam attack!" Rocky exclaimed and his snake reared to come down on Karen hard. The Espeon rolled out of the way just barely and hissed when she had to jump over the swing of Arbok's tail.

"Try a Psybeam!" Sara said, her hands shaking slightly. She could see that her Pokemon was overwhelmed. Karen nodded and obediently shot a wave of multicolored energy out of the gem on her head and nailed Arbok on the hood. Then she was hit hard when he slammed his weight on her back.

"The Espeon is unable to battle!" The referee exclaimed when Arbok retreated to show Karen lying on her side, fainted.

"Come back Karen." Sara half-heartedly returned her Pokemon to her Pokeball and tossed another one. Sandsinger, with her chest looking a little better now than before, appeared and swept her tail across the ground.

"Wrap it!" Exclaimed Arbok's trainer and the snake slithered closer to do so, until Sandsinger kicked off of the ground and easily avoided it.

"_Wow, Tarragon taught her well." _Star noted with satisfaction in her voice at the Flygon's newfound gain in speed.

"Use Flamethrower, Sandsinger!" Sara exclaimed, another thing that the dragon had been taught to do. Sandsinger spread her wings wide and exhaled flames over Arbok. It wasn't as good as a fire-type's attack, but it worked well when she toasted the snake Pokemon.

Arbok was returned and a Roselia took his place. She barely survived the first round of Flamethrower, her Magical Leaf attack doing some damage, before she was knocked out with a blast of Dragonbreath.

"And the winner is Sara Wellington of Elemental Ridge!" The announcer exclaimed as Sara received her choice of a prize. Here, when a battle was won, a prize was given out, and the higher the win, the better the prize selection. The only things offered to her were elemental stones, and Sara chose the fire stone with a roll of her eyes. Perhaps Althea would want to evolve, or maybe even Blaze…

She went to the rock field just in time to see Drake's Horsea deliver a final water gun at a misfortunate Golem. And just in time to see one of his Pokemon finally evolve. Horsea looked down at his body and found it spiny and sharp edged, a Seadra.

"Congrats Drake!" Sara yelled at him when they were in the very noisy dining area. Of course it was outside, there were not enough buildings to but it in something.

"Thanks Sara!" Drake yelled back and they finally got to sit down. Elvina quickly followed suit, "Did you see my battle Elvina?"

"You did well!" Elvina said, "But I was watching both your battles, and you did wonderfully Sara! Star was flying very well too…"

"_Thanks blue-hair." _Star was the only one of Sara's Pokemon other than Sandsinger that she had with her at the moment, the rest were at the overloaded Pokemon Center waiting to be treated. Along with Drake's and probably everyone else's Pokemon.

"I got a fire stone too, perhaps Althea will want to evolve?" Sara continued, fingering the said item, which gave off a fiery glow.

Elvina didn't get to reply, for at that time Rena and a Devon that looked like a storm cloud was over his head came over to their table. "Can you believe I lost?" Devon was saying.

"Yes, now leave me alone." Rena replied, "Hey Sara! I heard you won! Heh, I did too."

"She creamed my Pokemon." Devon growled.

"_Sore loser." _Amber the Combusken murmured under her breath.

The sound of thunder stopped all thoughts of talking as they looked up to see fierce thunderclouds racing across the sky. "That's coming fast." Sara murmured.

"Too fast. I would blame Kyogre." Sara jumped and whirled around, but it was only Maxie, holding his Squee, frowning there.

"Or Dominus." Solorite snarled, "He can control weather you know…"

He looked over to where Sundav was perching, changing her feather colors to seem invisible, well mostly anyway. The light bird nodded once and that was all the Absol needed. "And he's here too!" He growled.

"_No need to worry." _Sundav said in her musical tone, _"I've got it under control."_

"So says you."

"_So says me, you are right about that Solorite."_

"Aww, how are we going to battle if it's dripping wet outside tomorrow?" Drake asked Sara, who shrugged. For a second the two ten year-old kids' eyes met, until Sara blushed and looked away quickly.

"Perhaps they'll postpone our match." She murmured.

"_Not a chance. They'll want us out of here as soon as possible!" _Star twittered.

"Hey, none of my Pokemon 'cept Star and Sandsinger are with me… what am I going to do if Dominus attacks… right now?"

"Cue Dominus attack." Drake said teasingly, "Don't worry, all my Pokemon are with me right now. Because I'm smart like that-hey, Sara, wait up!" He ran after her as she went to the Pokemon Center to retrieve her Pokemon.

Only Drake followed her, the rest shook their heads and Pocky, with Woop sitting in her lap, sighed. "Ah, to be ten and foolish."

* * *

Dinner was eaten as if it was toxic material, Sara wouldn't even touch it and the rest toyed with theirs. "No sign of that Dominus guy." Rena said at seven o'clock when the talent show was announced that it was postponed because of the torrential rain that was still falling. 

"You'll never be able to show us your Pokemon's talents if this keeps up." Sara murmured to Elvina, who sighed as she returned Huan to his Pokeball.

"It's really cool too…" She murmured.

"I've heard of Dominus." Pocky said finally, "Isn't he some famous guy that like knows a ton about Pokemon?"

"Yeah, that's him." Elvina responded miserably, "I asked him for his autograph too and he kidnapped me later."

"Did you save his autograph?" Devon asked.

"No…"

"Dang that would have been worth millions…" He was hit across the head by Rena's fist for that.

"Let's go look for him." Sara said and got up.

"And let's jump off a bridge while we're at it. No Sara, we're not going to go looking for trouble." Maxie grabbed her by the arm and dragged her down onto the chair again.

Ten minutes later, Sara proposed the same thing and received nearly everyone's voice in a joint 'NO!'

It continued to rain, dampening the mood even more. Sara nervously played with Star's empty ball as its owner hopped around trying to avoid her own stalker. Meep, Squee, and Puff seemed to realize the mood, as the three kittens were just sitting around on their tails and staring at each other.

"Are you sure he's here Sundav?" Elvina asked the light bird still pretending to be a part of the sky and the pole she was standing on.

"_He is here, I am sure of it."_

And a couple minutes later, Sundav was proven correct, as a black arrow stuck itself to the wooden pole of the tent that they were under. "'Dearest Lady Sara and her annoying friends, I am waiting for you be the pier. Come at the risk of you own lives. Signed in blood, Dominus.'" Sara read, making a face at the ending, "He's gambling that we'll stay away from him."

"Dominus knows us too well." Elvina shook her head, "But we need a plan."

"_I've already said that I have this under control. I was not lying." _Sundav piped up from her perch, _"Come, let us go to Dominus before he comes to us."_

* * *

"I didn't think you would make it." Dominus cackled icily as he casually looked up at the approaching party of people and Pokemon. They would be weakened from the fighting that they'd done today, perfect for him. 

"Oh, we made it. And we've got a plan." Sara said with hope for the light bird that she actually had a _good _plan.

"Oh, a plan. I'm shaking." He responded with a snicker, "And are you going to tell me your plan while you're at it?"

"Of course not."

Tabitha pointed forward, "Well, as for a warm-up, let's introduce your old friend! Go, Manectric, let him see stars!" With a howl, her loyal Manectric leapt into battle with Dominus, his mane sparking. He jumped for the tall man, and was caught across the throat.

"_You don't think," _Dominus growled as his form took that of Catastrofate, _"That I am that pathetic, do you?" _He cast a half-choked Pokemon aside and grinned toothily at his enemies.

"_Because if you do, perhaps you need to see my little friends…" _The creature that came from his own DNA, the real Catastrofate, came out of the shadows and snarled fiercely just as an ever larger Pokemon turned his head and became visible for the first time, Nekroquaza was there as well.

Sundav flitted over to stand in front of Dominus, reaching about half his size. She glared defiantly at him and growled, _"Before you sick your beasts on us, perhaps I can give you a show." _She turned her head back and nodded to one Pokemon in particular, _"It is time."_

Sandsinger stepped forward shakily and stood next to Sundav, wearing an equally defiant expression on her face. _"Do you know what I'm about to say, Dominus?" _She continued smugly.

Dominus, for once, crossed his arms and shook his head. His gaze lingered on Sandsinger for a moment before he said, _"You've got an under-grown dragon to attack me. I am so scared."_

"_Aye, I do. But she's not the one to attack you." _Sundav closed her eyes and her voice became loud and booming, _"I am the light in the dark, the keeper of the light. My powers are undefined in the art. By so the powers lost to me are transfixed through this one of heart, I find myself whole once more!"_

Sandsinger and Sundav both began to glow blue for several seconds and Dominus seemed to get it, as he shooed both the creatures under his command away as fast as possible. For a moment after the glowing stopped on Sandsinger's part, the bird of light was the rainbow in color. And that was when it happened.

A fierce explosion rocked the earth for miles around, and many questions of 'What was that?' started to go around as Sundav burst into flames. Her body elongated and grew tangible feathers as the fire brought old powers long since dead back to life. Her crest blazed and tail feathers grew long as the fire became one with the light bird.

In Sundav's place was a towering bird that looked down on them all with red eyes instead of green. _"By the fire I am reborn." _Sundav murmured, not taking in account that her giant form made her voice very, very loud.

Late evening light blazed between the clouds that began to part and put waves of light on the subject at hand. Sandsinger had gotten far out of the bird's way as she transfigurated back to her original form, and was standing with her mouth open next to Sara, who really had her mouth gaping wide. "Sundav, you're a…"

"_Ho-oh." _The legendary finished for her. She turned her giant head and bird-smiled, _"That is correct."_

"Look at that!" A man yelled, pointing to where a group of kids was standing with an actual life-sized replica of the legendary Ho-oh and some strange new Pokemon.

"It's a Ho-oh!"

"Naw, Ho-oh doesn't look like that!" Another blurted, "They're normally red, white, yellow, and green."

"_And I am not?" _Sundav asked the growing crowd with amusement and spread her wings, making sure to slap them into the shell-shocked Dominus.

"Oh no." Sara bit her lip when several of the trainers drew out Pokeballs and approached. That is, until Dominus leapt to his feet and the legendary bird cried out, making a shield of light around him and her.

"_This is between the two of us." _She growled, _"You are going down this time, Dominus."_

"_Oh really?" _Dominus was chuckling, and at this point it turned to full-fledged laughter, _"I suppose you don't know what you did then!"_

"_I became whole. That's all that really matters now."_

"_And you forgot one thing." _Dominus's form blazed with black fire, _"That whenever light appears, darkness appears. You have just kicked yourself in the chest, Sundav, as you're not going to win even know."_

A ball of black flames was thrown from his palm at her, which hit her in the chest. "Look, the Pokemon are fighting!" Someone from the growing crowd exclaimed, causing those who knew Sundav to either shush the crowd or groan. Sundav let out a cry of pain as the flames set fire where they landed and eventually died out to reveal a scorch mark. (To ooohhhhs, from the crowd.)

"If they do that again, I swear…" Rena grumbled under her breath, and that was when the damage done to Sundav disappeared as if it had never been there in the first place. She flapped her wings once and roared to the sky as her body became a living fireball and the flames incinerated Dominus, as he was stuck in a small space with her. He began to gasp for breath and turned back to normal, looking a bit more pale and blue than usual.

Dominus touched the wall of light and it collapsed in front of him, giving just enough room for him to squeeze out and escape from. Sundav watched him run with a smug look. "Aren't you going to give chase and… you know, kill him?" Sara asked when she made no move to move.

"_No Lady, I am not ready to do that. Dominus will be back, and the next time he will not escape with his life." _The Ho-oh turned around and gazed deep into Sara's eyes, _"I beg your pardon, we are no ready."_

"I want a battle, Ho-oh!" Exclaimed the person that Sara recognized as Rocky Crocker, the trainer she'd just beaten. A Sandslash stood just in front of him this time around. Sundav looked up from Sara and snorted on the spiny, armadillo-like Pokemon, before hitting him with her heavy beak, sending the Sandslash flying into his trainer and the two of them toppled into a heap.

"_You got your battle." _Sundav said with amusement, _"Anyone else want me to knock your Pokemon around a bit?"_

Not surprisingly, the trainers that were holding Pokeballs quickly shook their heads and retreated away. Eventually, the crowd broke apart and went on with their business, mainly shopping and sleep. Sundav watched this all with a patient look on her face, and eventually turned around to see Drake and Elvina ushering the rest of the stragglers and their friends away. Only Sara was left with Star perched on her head as usual, the only two there. _"I beg your pardon Lady Sara, but you're staring." _Sundav's tone was still amused.

"Is there a reason why I shouldn't be?"

"_You knew she was a legendary." _Star reminded her trainer.

"But… she's so COOL!" Sara exclaimed, earning a chuckle and a twitter from her Swellow, "With the flames and Sandsinger… hey, what did you do with Sandsinger?"

"_A transfusion of power. I'll explain when you're more awake."_

"How-"

"_I'm a Ho-oh, I can do anything." _Sundav sounded exceedingly smug at that moment.

"Including-"

"_Reading your mind, yes. But I won't do that very often."_

"Well what am I thinking right now?" Sara asked as she crossed her arms, she didn't like this mind-reading business.

"_You want a ride." _Sundav said unexpectedly and kneeled with her wings spread, _"And I want to stretch my wings. Perhaps you can get a warm-up to your race as well Star."_

Sundav had thought she'd seen the last of the open-and-close fish motion, but she was wrong as Sara did just that. She made a 'come hither' motion with her head and Sara finally, if shakily, climbed onto her vast back.

Her feathers were soft and as warm as the glow of a fire. Sundav took off with a heavy beat of her wings and laughed loudly when Star was left in the dust. It was nighttime when they got back, and Sara was still making the fish mouth every once and a while when Sundav did something unexpected. Which happened a lot, as she didn't know what to expect from a Ho-oh.

The tent in which Sara would be sleeping was right next to Pocky's, and a Wooper stuck its head out of her tent-flap. "Woopa!"

"_Hello to you too." _Sundav said.

"Woopah, whoo?"

"_Yes, I'm sleeping out here tonight."_

"Woop!"

"_Of course little one." _

Sara watched as Woop bounced out of Pocky's tent and gave Sundav's leg a hug. (At least that's what it looked like, as Wooper have no arms to speak of…)

"Good night Sundav." Sara said in the same shell-shocked tone that she'd adopted as she went into her own tent, hearing Sundav's murmured good night, and found it crammed full of her Pokemon. Sandsinger got off her bedroll with a smile.

"_I kept it warm for you!" _The Flygon exclaimed happily as three furry bundles tried to get her attention at once.

"_Look what I found!" _Meep pawed at her legs and pushed the fire stone she'd won from earlier closer. _"It's cool!"_

"_She won that earlier, silly." _Karen said butting him aside and purred at Sara. That cued Meep and Althea to do so as well, and the three's purring was loud as they crowded around their trainer.

Sara fell asleep with Sandsinger curled up into a ball next to her, a Swellow asleep on her chest, and the three furry Pokemon keeping her legs warm. She was not cold that night, at least.


	30. Saladreth Flies

Wow, I can't respond to reviews anymore… But I want everyone who does review to know that I still appreciate them so much! So if you have a question that you want _answered _please contact me via another way, and not by e-mail please. You can find me on Neopets under the username 'kittenfive', on Gaia Online I am 'Star-Bird Swellow', and if you click on my homepage and ask a question to 'Swellow' there, that's me as well. You don't need to join there, but you're encouraged to.

Well, I'm not all that happy with this chapter, as I've written it over and over again and can't seem to get everything just right… It's more of a filler, and before I spend another week remodeling it again, here's chapter 30!

**Chapter 30**

While Sara was out doing things, Star was having her problems with a certain lover-boy…_"Go. Away." _Star snapped, so upset she couldn't cause an explosion to rock the world of the Swellow trying to flirt with her.

"_Why should I?" _Mellow asked in his deepest tone, fluffing his feathers out stubbornly.

"_Hey Chicky!" _The female tweeted when Amber came walking under the tent top both she and Mellow were on. The Combusken raised her head and blinked questioningly. _"Do you want a stalker? He's potty trained."_

"_I am?"_

Amber snorted, _"No thanks song bird, I've got enough problems."_

"_I'll even add in my food for a month!" _Star squawked desperately.

"_But we could share that!" _Mellow said in the same desperate tone as he saw Amber turn around with a pondering look on her face.

"_You've got a deal." _She said finally, snagging Mellow by the tail feathers and yanking him away with her. Star breathed a sigh of relief as she watched him go and looked down at her belly thoughtfully before murmuring, _"I really do need to lose some weight…" _And with that she flew off in search of her trainer.

* * *

Squee and Meep giggled at the big dragon that was Sandsinger as she played tag with them. It was Puff's turn to be it, as he was the one she caught first. (They were faster than her, but Sandsinger was having a lot of fun, believe it or not.) 

"Hey Sandsinger!" Sara bounced up to her Pokemon with a wide smile. The dragon put down Puff, beginning another game of tag, and turned around with a questioning look.

In the distance, Sandsinger could see Star-bird flying around freely, well at least without Mellow, and she wondered where he was. It seemed that Mellow was becoming more aggressively attached to her… for a moment the Flygon through back to Tarragon and sighed. _"Trainer!" _She bounced over to Sara joyfully, not letting any of her thoughts show.

"Come on, it's starting!" Sara replied, taking her Flygon by the arm and dragging her towards the stadium, "And where in the world is Star?"

"_Over there." _Sandsinger pointed backwards, where Star was coming in for a landing a bit awkwardly for her, and seemingly not seeing the kittens. The three of them, who were staring at her with wide eyes, tackled Star the second she touched the ground and proceeded to chew on her wings. Puff must have found her crest interesting tasting.

They turned around and saw this with Star not even making a motion to get rid of them. She looked up at Sara with a questioning look, _"So, is it starting?" _She asked, motioning to the stadium with one wing in a way not to disturb Squee.

"Uh…" Sara bit her lip at the strange scene, then shrugged, "Yeah, it is. Come on Star!"

"_Alright!" _Star did her old trick of taking off to shake off her three terrorist kittens and soared in the direction of the stadium.

* * *

"So you're saying this'll work?" Famulus murmured questioningly as he looked on at the rock field with one of his greasy eyebrows raised. 

Adam nodded quickly, "Yeah, all that silver cat has to do is step right there," He pointed to a dark spot that could easily be mistaken for another rock. "And then we'll have her."

"Right… another one of your bright ideas. I wonder how long this one will last." The other man murmured as the crowd was hushed at the starting of the match between Sara and Drake.

"You're going down Drake!" Sara exclaimed over on her side of the field, Star adding her squawking note.

Their friends were split down the middle, Rena was sitting on Sara's side, Devon on Drake's, Pocky and Elvina were in the middle where nobody could tell which side they're on.

"_Go Meep-Squee!" _Squee squeaked from Rena's lap, and the kitten (now rolling around with Puff on the bleachers at Rena's feet) raised his head and squeaked back at her. The squeaking continued on until a horn was blown, and that caused the kittens to scatter.

A Solonfree exclaimed brightly from Sara's side of the bleachers when she released Karen, unknowingly going the first step in a plan to catch her. _Sundav. _Sara thought and shook her head as Drake's Dorovi appeared on the other side with a cry.

"Psybeam!"

"Water Gun!"

The two attacks hit in between, but it was the Psybeam that blasted through the water wall in its way and knocked Dorovi across the head. The dragon-like Pokemon stumbled for a second before charging at Karen with his mouth open, ready to bite.

The Espeon rolled to the side of the Bite attack, going closer to an odd rock, before dodging yet another attempted bite. Dorovi knocked her back farther and farther until the ground under Karen seemed to shudder for a second.

An explosion from the area there slammed into Dorovi, causing him to bounce hard on his head and abruptly faint as his opponent roared out a cry. "Karen!" Sara exclaimed when the dust settled, showing her Espeon in a steel cage that glinted in the sunshine. A couple of ropes were bringing her in from above, and on the other side of them were Famulus and Adam standing on top of Famulus's Aerodactyl.

"Surprised to see us kid?" Famulus asked mockingly when she tensed up. "Well, we've got a surprise for you!"

The man tossed a Pokeball, just as Aero back winged and set off for the other direction. The ball exploded in a burst of light, and yet another flyer took to the air with a roar of the name of a Pokemon he appeared to be. "Zapdos?" Someone from the crowd questioned when the massive bird let off another roar and sparked from his body.

"Karen!" Sara cried, totally ignoring the new Pokemon as she sent Sandsinger out on the field and shot off after the fast flying creature. She passed the Zapdos without a scratch as well, yet a slight electrical shock followed her Flygon that was ignored.

The posing-Solonfree looked up and began to glare suspiciously at the Pokemon that was circling above the battlefield with his body sparking. She finally said, _"That is no Zapdos." _

It was then that Rikeren looked down long enough for Drake and the rest to pick out the black, pupil-less eyes of the bird, only with the slight slits of red as any color in them. The Zapdos-impersonator finally let loose his electrical attack, sending a bolt of scarlet down to earth aimed at Drake.

"Woopa!" Woop exclaimed dramatically as it took the attack with virtually no damage. Pocky was standing and had thrown it in the way.

Dorovi snapped awake again as Rikeren stopped in mid-air and laughed aloud, _"So I see that you human think you are clever!" _He growled, _"There is nothing clever about a-"_

He stopped when his tail feathers caught fire from a poorly aimed blast of fire. Sundav, standing were Sara used to be, had her beak open and was charging another Fire Blast.

Rikeren snickered evilly at the Ho-oh as he generated another bolt that rained down on her this time. Sundav's body went rigid from shock and shuddered when the blast was finished, suffering from the aftereffects of paralization. It was then that the electrified bird was hit and soaked with water.

"_You are not welcome here." _Dorovi stated the obvious as he crouched with teeth bared and his tiny crest rose. All the dragon's statement got was another squawking laugh from Rikeren though…

"_I see I am not, since there is only weaklings like you." _He said, looking at Sundav, who was still shaking furiously, to Dorovi. He could squash the little dragon like a bug if he wanted! This was what he was created for, being impossibly strong. It was he that was the oldest here, far surpassing the Ho-oh in age, and skill!

Dorovi took a full-on Thunder attack in the same battle pose he was in, crying furiously. The dragon's cry of anger soon turned to that of pain as he scales were seared and began to split, his life zapping away with the seconds that passed. _I can't… _He thought desperately, looking to Sundav in hopes that she could help.

The Ho-oh remained still; stone still, as she watched what she knew was the end. _"May the great Mew be with you." _She murmured.

Rikeren cried with pleasure at the burned body that lay under him. _"Just as it should be." _He stated, licking his beak with obvious longing, he'd be having fried dragon tonight…

_Drake… _Dorovi used the last of his ebbing strength to glance at his trainer. The curly-haired boy's face was set, knowing spreading across his features. "Dorovi, no…" He murmured, but the dragon only nodded. _I've failed Drake._

Drake, the human he had always given such a hard time to… the boy he'd been stuck with since he was a little hatchling. Dorovi was stuck in the past, his eyes misty, as his body began to change…

It had been a rainy day when Drake's father, who was only just a tall version of his trainer, had brought the baby version of himself in by the tail. "Treat him well son." The man had said when Drake accepted him, his eyes wide. And of course the first thing he had done was bite the young boy's hand…

They had trained for a while, making new friends and many enemies as well. Drake had caught a Horsea after the fifteenth day they were together, and when he was faced with a scrawny little Taillow he ran her over with ease. He hadn't even known he evolved… "Dorovi." Drake said, and it was in a much different tone this time. Dorovi thought back, it was the same shocked word that his trainer had said when he had evolved. What was wrong with him? Dorovi wondered as he realized his head would turn, and he looked around to Sundav.

The Ho-oh remained in the same pose she had struck, but it was much different this time at what she said. _"Stop laying around boy, you know what to do, so do it." _She said with a tone of seriousness. Again Dorovi had to wonder what was wrong with her, and him as well. But perhaps she wanted him to die like he was supposed to?

"…Saladreth…" The name was repeated over and over again as the crowd began to repeat that name over and over, raising their voices in an intense clatter.

"_Who's Saladreth?" _Dorovi asked, confusion in his tone as he snapped his jaw closed in slight shock. His voice had turned deep and had a fine growl to it, something that was new for it.

Drake held his breath as the huge dragon turned his gaze back to him, "Go on Dor-Saladreth!" He exclaimed with a motion to the sky. He had heard of the beauty of a Saladreth, but never had seen it until today. He was absolutely huge! The dragon's scales glittered sapphire, with emerald dotting it every once and a while. On his massive forearms were claws that all looked to be about the size of a small sword, and sharp as one.

Saladreth finally looked down at himself, to the giant wings that had grown in, to his fully-grown spines and lengthy, whip-like tail. And the look of his purple-speckled eyes said that he finally understood.

The dragon got up with ease and spread his wings. While Dorovi could never take that attack, Saladreth had absorbed the damage he'd taken and was still ready for more. Rikeren had stopped cheering for himself and was watching with shocked horror as Saladreth kicked off the ground and took flight with one heavy flap of his wings.

He found that flying was easier than it looked; Saladreth flapped his wings again and gained enough altitude to be on level with Rikeren. _"Now whose the biggest fish in the sea?" _He cackled teasingly as the bird shot another electrical attack at him. The shiny scales covering Saladreth's hide did not conduct the electricity, he barely was scathed.

It appeared that Rikeren was finally afraid as his attack did almost nothing to his opponent. He operated on weakness only, and there was no weakness in the purple fire of Saladreth's eyes. His crest was raised and mouth open, in between the shining silver teeth was an orange globe starting to form.

"_I will be avenged!" _Roared Rikeren as his voice was heard for the last time. The Hyper Beam was shot, and it hit the nightmare creature through his dark heart. His eyes rolled back and as the bird fell, his form was reduced to smoky blackness that vanished in the wind before it even hit the ground. The fallen legendary had lost for the last time.

* * *

Sara thought she saw a plume of smoke in the distance, but wasn't completely sure. _"Should we turn back?" _Sandsinger questioned as her gaze followed that of her trainer's. 

"No way! We have to find them…" She replied furiously, angry that her Pokemon would even think of asking a question like that. "Karen's probably been muffled by now, but you can still follow their scent!"

Neither of them wanted to admit they were lost, nor that Karen would still cry out psychically. The Espeon's voice had died away long ago, and there was nothing else to follow as Sandsinger sniffed the air and shrugged helplessly.

"_Kitty-san! If you can still hear me, say something!" _Sandsinger cried desperately, using the nickname she'd given to Karen herself.

"_She's over here!" _Star, who had been sent to fly patrol since she was faster than Sandsinger, returned and landed on the Flygon's neck with her wing pointing to the direction that they were headed.

Just ahead was an old, abandoned-looking cabin that, when they were closer, had a psychic air to it that gave Sara the feeling that she was just recovering from a migraine. _This must be Karen's distress signal. _She thought to herself as Sandsinger landed just outside the cabin and tapped on the door lightly.

It opened just a crack, and Dominus's voice came out, _"You've finally got her eh? And I guess you suspect that I'll keep your lives for this?"_

His tone was more chilly than usual, and Sara shuddered slightly as she put her ear to the door to hear it better. "Y-yes sir, that's what we suspect."

"Shall we pay them a visit?" Sara whispered to her two Pokemon, who both nodded, Sandsinger eager, Star half-hearted. She kicked the door open and was greeted by a sight that the ten year-old would call strange.

Dominus, with Catastrofate standing behind him, was cackling over the two kneeling forms of Famulus and Adam. They were so wrapped up in the scene that none noticed the three standing at the door, except for the stupid werewolf-like creature, which howled at the sight of Sara.

"_Hmm…" _Dominus had a hungry glaze to his eyes as he looked up and smirked at them. _"Lady Sara, how good of you to join us."_

Sandsinger hissed as he began to cackle again, _"I think you should shove it Dominus." _Star tweeted sassily.

Karen was still in the steel cage at the corner of the cabin, growling and hitting her full weight against the cage, cried out angrily when Dominus took his full Pokemorph form as well.

The door shut with an audible crash behind Sara. "So you got past Rikeren, eh?" Famulus asked, but was silenced from a glance from his master. Sandsinger tried to open the door discretely with her tail, and found it impossible.

"_Since everyone except myself and Dominus are going to die, I guess I can let you in on a little secret." _Dominus said with a smirk, pausing for effect to see the different reactions that they all would have to the way he phrased that. _"I am not Dominus."_

Catastrofate, who was drooling lazily as he watched a fly buzz around, finally raised his gaze and smirked widely at them. His face seemed transformed at the moment he used normal speech fluently in saying,_" But I am." _His voice strangely different from that of the other Pokemon that appeared to be like him.

"Wha-?" They both laughed, as those in the room with them were all quite confused-looking at their statements.

"You're not Dominus, but you are?" Adam pointed to each in turn and blinked. "So if you're not Dominus but Catastrofate is Dominus, then who are you?"

"I am Siron." The human Dominus returned to his normal form and smirked innocently. "A weakling in comparison, and you all believed it this whole time. My, we must be good actors."

"_Quite." _The real Dominus smirked, _"And I guess you'll want an explanation too, eh? Well let's just say that I decided to repeat what Sundav did, and separate my powers. So with Siron as a decoy, I could collect my powers while acting stupid." _He cackled, _"So easily fooled, you humans and simple-minded Pokemon are."_

"But-but-but…" Sara stared at Dominus, the real one, with her mouth open. "But your voice…"

"_Doesn't ooze with darkness." _He finished for her, _"That's why you never saw a threat in me. Now guess what? Prepare to die, little girl."_

The wolf-creature's eyes narrowed as he lifted a hand and clenched it. Invisible tendrils of darkness clamped around Sara's throat, squeezing down on it. _"Dominus!" _Sundav, in the form of a miniature Ho-oh, appeared through the door. Her movements where slow and weak, as if she'd been shocked hard by something.

Sara couldn't breathe, couldn't make a sound other that choked coughs as dark shadows began to creep across her eyes. She scratched at the invisible force around her, thrashing against the air around her that was so full of darkness that it could be cut with a knife. Sundav turned her head and squawked, or was that Star? Sounds and sights blurred together, becoming a tangled mass of color and noise that couldn't be comprehended.

And then everything went black for Sara.

* * *

"Since Sara Wellington is not here, I guess the match automatically goes to Drake Drencos of Elemental Ridge." The announcer said, uncertainty in his tone as he turned to the boy standing with the massive form of Saladreth looming over him. The dragon had been the same old, affectionate creature… and was still a lazy lump. Just how Drake wanted it to be, and secretly Saladreth wanted it that way too. 

"Give her some more time!" Elvina said worriedly as she held on to Meep and Squee, the two of them being big handfuls for her. Two flying forms returned quickly afterwards, Gryff to her pacing trainer, and Mellow to report that he saw nothing of his own female. The male Swellow seemed to give Rena a wide space in between for some reason, and was very interested in hiding in the crook of Saladreth's right wing.

Gryff, however, had more important news to deliver. (Other than the fact that she'd beaten Mellow on the race back to the stadium.) _"I saw them going towards this old house up on the next route by the sea." _She reported to her trainer, who stopped pacing and repeated the information to those that couldn't understand, _"But that was when this mist settled around them, Sandsinger didn't hear my shouting. It was impossible to follow."_

"You did well." Rena murmured, returning her Pokemon to her well-earned rest. "I suppose we're going on a rescue mission, then?" She asked.

"_There is no need for that." _Sundav returned, her massive red eyes full of sorrow. The Ho-oh stiffly sat down, drawing a perfect circle in the dirt of the rock field so she wouldn't have to continue and say what was inevitably the biggest failure of her life. A single tear welled up in the corner of her eye and fell to the edge of the circle, wetting it and staying there like a little imperfection in the thing that went on forever, the one blemish that would pause and disrupt.

She didn't even look up when Squee squirmed out of Elvina's grasp and padded up to her, _"What's wrong?" _The kitten mewed, pawing at her beak fearlessly.

"_I have lost her."_

Sundav moved her head so that her eyes were more on level with Squee's. The kitten blinked, showing how much she understood the statement with the way her head was cocked to the side. "You have lost no one yet." Another walked up to the group, smiling mysteriously. "Or do you think I can't tell when my own sister is dead?"

* * *

A/N: Yeah, I'm actually commenting at the bottom of the page for once. I thank you for getting through the pretty uneventful filler-ness chapter without hitting the backspace button, and for that you get a cookie! -offers plate of cookies to readers- The next chapter is going to be more interesting, I promise! 


	31. Into the Rift

School has been a real killer. So perhaps that's part of the reason why this is late. Actually, it would be lucky if I can update once a month now. Parts of this were written when my brain was fried, but have been edited as best as they can be.

The kicking of Rena in the shin is an inside joke. Don't ask, really.

And just one last thing, I wanted to say OMG wow to the person that read over my whole story and gave me so many reviews. You rock Matt!

**Chapter 31**

The bellowing of Artimus could be heard all around, his powerful voice echoing around his hollow cave under the sea. _"Sister! Explain your actions!" _He roared both physically and psychically, giving headaches to the Pokemon that made their nests close to his lair.

The only reply the beast of the sea received came from Sundav in a small voice, _"I have lost her."_

Those four words were enough to get him going in a fury. Even if it was him that had said that very thing such a long time ago, Artimus could feel no compassion for his sister's state of mind. _"You are a fool." _He growled angrily, _"You are a fool to believe in the nonsense that humans can return to life, you are-" _But he cut himself off as he realized that his sister had blocked out his voice.

"_Have it your way." _He murmured and slashed the water under him with one vast wing in a show of his anger that created a wall of water that caused the wall of his cave to crack. It was ignored, as Artimus was already lost in a flash from his past…

He was still a little chick with a mission to keep himself and his sister safe, or die trying. That was when they actually still got along, of course that day had long since gone by as Sundav was ripped of her powers, and Artimus was forced to take cover from humans and their modern inventions called Pokeballs.

The two of them had been nicknamed the Fire and Water Twins, and were inseparable. But both went their own separate ways, Sundav leading the Light Crusade by the side of the human that Artimus had never enjoyed being around, Mystic. But he had found a human of his own, a beautiful lady named Selra. She'd been all he wanted in a partner, down to her flowing blue locks that so matched the sea that he loved.

But life went on, as it was supposed to, Selra died of old age after saying one last good-bye to him. It was that day that Artimus had left his happiness behind.

He was snatched out of his dreams of Selra when Sundav established their mind link again, and when he prepared to speak again, he was cut off by her saying, _"I need your help, here's what you need to do…"_

* * *

Sara shuddered as she awoke to darkness all around her. It was thick, and covered her like a furry black blanket that seemed to have a life of it's own and wouldn't let her go, or let her even move. She found that movement was absolutely impossible, and caught a fleeting thought of: _So, this is what it's like to die. _

Her heart thudded as she realized what that meant, and she let out a little moan of sadness. _That means I've failed. _Recited that one alive voice in her head, _I'm a fail-_

"_Not so fast, little one." _The voice came over her like a breeze, chilling Sara to the bone. It seemed to be a sound not meant for mortal ears, for when it spoke, it made her head scream in agony, _"You mustn't give up."_

When the sound had died away, the darkness and silence seemed to call out Sara's name, if only she could just close her eyes and rest…

* * *

"_You…" _Sundav's gaze looked the girl over and shook her head, _"Sara's sister?"_

"That's right." The short, silver-haired girl said, the mysterious sparkle never leaving her lilac eyes as she gazed on the Ho-oh with no show of any fear. "I am Sara's sister." She repeated more slowly, putting emphasis on every syllable.

"Preposterous." Elvina murmured, "I don't believe you, _psychic._"

Rika's smile widened as she looked upon the blue-haired girl, "Still you are a non-believer. No, I am definitely Sara's sister."

The Ho-oh had been silent for this conversation, a stunned expression on her face. Sundav tried to read off Rika's outer thoughts, but there was nothing there to help her with the knot that the girl had just handed her. _"Why?"_

"I'm sure you all know _why _I'm Sara's sister, but _how _is a different story." The psychic shook her head slowly, "I'm Sara's older sister, the one that was kidnapped and never found again. She's probably never heard of me because… well, the Baraa that took me did a good job of hiding her tail marks." Rika shrugged causally, as if telling a group of strangers she was kidnapped by a thief Pokemon was no big deal.

A loud squealing noise came out of the mouth of a Pokemon that was being chased by an angry-looking Houndoom with his teeth bared in a snarl. The two of them raced through the now-empty stadium, it having been abandoned after the announcement of the end of the match.

She looked like a sort of raccoon, with silver and brown markings on her head and down her back. The Pokemon ran ahead on all four of her short legs, and had a bone protruding from her mouth. Perhaps Fiendre's meal…

The Baraa was very large, and carried herself quickly down the stadium wall and over to Rika, where she chirruped and offered the mangled chicken leg to Rika. Devon and Drake looked her at strangely when she chirruped back and the Baraa nodded and went off to eat the chicken for herself.

Fiendre walked by, looking absolutely livid, as Drake murmured, "What did she say?" To Rena, who shrugged and murmured back.

"She still thinks she's my mum." Rika said with a sigh, "Not convinced that I'm a grown cub now."

"She's off her rocker." Elvina said, looking after the Baraa and growling at Rika, "And you are too. Why should we believe you?"

The silver-haired girl frowned up at Elvina and finally said, "I know where Sara is. If you follow what I have to say, then there is still hope to save her. There is nothing I can say or do to make you believe that I am Sara's sister, but I assure you, I am. Now who's going to hear me out?"

* * *

"R-Rena? Are you sure you want to do this?" Devon stammered out nervously as both Gryff and Solorite got on top of Rena as she lay in a bed, the Absol splayed across her legs, while her Pokemon daintily sat across her chest. From under the cover of feathers and fur, Rena glared at her stalker. 

"For the fifth time, YES!" She roared back, "I want to save Sara, and this is how we're going to do it."

The Baraa perched on the very tips of Rena's toes chattered at Devon disapprovingly, her fur puffed out as if she was encountering a threat of some sort. Pocky had said that Baraa were the evolution of Furrent, and the Pokemon's slim body backed her up on that. That was just as Sundav, in the form of Solonfree again, flitted up to the Pokemorph's side and said, _"I will do what Rika requires, but the effects are only temporary. I take no responsibility for any discomfort you encounter, though."_

Sundav returned to her Ho-oh form and began to chant under her breath, a golden aura forming around her. The aura moved to surround both her and Rena, and the girl was suddenly glad for the warm Pokemon surrounding her. Her body shuddered as a wrenching occurred that caused Rena to blank out.

To finish the transaction and ensure Rena got to the rift between life and death without harm, Sundav kicked the fainted girl in the shin.

* * *

"Sara?" Rena called out, and her voice echoed back to her, as if it were a thousand Renas calling out at one time. She shivered from the icy grip of the world around her, one that seemed to be colorless, like an old movie. The background of the rift was a dark, dull gray that did not lighten the mood of the place at all. 

It was surprising that there was any ground to step on at all, or that it did not give way to her feet as she walked quickly around the featureless areas. _Gosh… _she thought, looking around helplessly, _I'll never find Sara this way._

She yelled out again, but only a low moaning from the surrounding area responded, a groan that caught her attention and held it, before Rena shook her head and continued on. The sound was repeated, this time louder, and she quickened her pace until she was close enough to see the things making the noise.

A patch of gray on the 'ground' depicted Sara, lying spread-eagled on the ground with a black cloud surrounding her. A dark cloud of a shapeless form was around her, and it was that that the moaning was coming from. Its little voice came together in a little chant that made Rena's ears numb. _"Join us Sara… you musssssssssst…"_

Sara groaned and lifted one arm with effort in the direction of the shapeless thing. By impulse alone Rena yelled out, "Not so fast little one!" The words echoed awkwardly, and a flush of embarrassment at what she'd said flooded over Rena as she continued with a small cough, "You mustn't give up!"

There was a disturbance, like a visible shiver, from the cloud. It's black form turned with a shapeless head towards her, and a serpent's hiss escaped from its solidifying lips. _"Sssso, I get two sssssnackssss thissss time…" _He spluttered, mouth opening again to show the forming of large silver canines.

"You won't get any snacks." Rena replied bluntly as she dashed under the creature with her hand out for Sara, "Come on, I didn't come here just to let you die!" She exclaimed to the girl as she grasped her cold arm and slung Sara over her shoulders. "But you need to lose a couple of pounds…"

Sara groaned again just as a black head came snaking down in their direction. Rena avoided it, just barely though, and set off at as fast of a pace as she could manage with the load on her back. "Re…na…?" The younger girl asked brokenly as she was shaken around enough to wake up.

"Yup, it's me." Rena said, trying to sound like not a care in the world was wrong, "Hold on, I'll get you home."

A last roar was heard as Rena spotted the white hole in the ground that she'd entered from. "Told ya', sucker!" She blew a raspberry over her shoulder and jumped down the hole, feeling very proud of herself.

But that was when the mistake happened.

She'd been told about it, but Rena wasn't ready when it actually happened. As they both came closer to the real world again, Rena lost her solidity and her soul disobeyed the order to hold onto Sara. It coursed back to her body, and left Sara, body and all, to fall where she may…

* * *

The man was scraggly, his beard unkempt and teeth ragged and broken. You would take him for what he was, an old beggar. But as he trudged through the grass and tripped over the body of a young blonde girl, he found himself almost face-to-face with her. "Uhhhh… excuse my missy, but don' ya' think that's a bad place ter take a nap?" 

When she didn't reply, not even twitch; he was tempted to kick her to get her to wake up. But instead of doing that, he kneeled down and tapped her shoulder. "Missy? Wake up!"

He sighed, puzzled, and turned away from her, just to take a step back from what he saw. "Kill him." The red-haired woman said carelessly to her Scyther, who moved his scythe to do as she said. She snickered and looked away, clutching a small device in her hand, where she murmured, "I have found her, master."

* * *

"_Star, there was something I wanted to ask you." _Sandsinger said conversationally as the wind played on her face. She was frowning intensely, and both Star and Karen knew what the reason was for. 

"_What is it?" _Star replied, her voice not the normal snap it normally was. They'd escaped when Dominus and Siron were busy with Sara, after knowing it was too late to save her. Sundav had appeared and disappeared, the look on her face saying what she didn't put into words. What her Pokemon dared not say aloud. They thought that Sara was dead. And were heading back to Slateport just to hear what was inevitable in their minds.

Karen, who was taking a free ride on Star's back, half-singed from the Flamethrower attack that had freed her, sighed and murmured, _"I've been wondering the same thing." _She stated.

"_What do you think we should do now?" _Sandsinger finished with a sigh as the small lights of Slateport came into view.

Star opened her beak to reply to the statement what she thought, but was interrupted as a yellow projectile tackled her. _"Berrrrrrryyyyy!" _Mellow chirruped happily, _"You wouldn't believe what happened!"_

"_I know what happened! You don't need to repeat it!" _Star snapped.

"_No, you don't understand! Star, you dingbat-" _Karen and Sandsinger gasped in shock. _"-Sara's still alive!"_

"_WHAT!" _The Espeon on her back had to dig in tightly to avoid falling off the bucking Star, _"Oh Mellow, I LOVE YOU!"_

"_I know, you just hate to say it." _Mellow replied smugly as he was caught up in a hug with Sandsinger. _"I'm a chick magnet!" _He exclaimed, with a joyful look as Star and Karen crowded around him happily. This was why he'd voted to be the message barer.

* * *

"_I scratch what I said earlier." _Mellow huffed, looking down at Amber as he kept her back with defensive jabs of his beak or talons, _"I'm a Torchic magnet."_

He'd been thrown (against his will) into the area that caged the fire starters for the Hoenn region. Because that was what he new girlfriend thought would 'mellow' Mellow down a bit. A mass of Torchic looked up at him from his perch on top of a poll, each of them wanting to get him down. Mostly the baby chicks wanted to play, but there were some little fireballs that wanted to be just that and see how fireproof Swellow feathers are. Mellow wasn't going to have a good night…

* * *

"_You mean you _don't_ know where Sara is?" _Star growled at Rena, who was rubbing her forehead as if she had a headache already. 

"Yup, and I'm sorry little bird. So go away."

"_Come on Star-bird before you make her headache any worse." _The Flygon dragged her friend out into the open air, where a small group was massing up to see something interesting, the new Saladreth. Star let out a squawk of disapproval, but finally let herself be taken over to Saladreth to 'admire' him with the rest of the early morning crowd.

Saladreth waved his long tail to acknowledge that he was alright with their presence as Sandsinger sat down propped against his side. _"Having fun?" _Star asked him sourly.

"_Nope. But I'm going to have to get used to this." _He replied, snorting hotly on a little boy that had gotten close enough to touch him. _"We'll find Sara, don't worry Star, Sandsinger." _He continued with a glance at their expressions.

"Indeed." Rika, who ignored Saladreth's warning snort, sat down Indian style next to Sandsinger and smirked.

"_I can't get used to that… Rika, don't you give warnings?"_

"About what, cheerful Swellow?" She replied, with a grin at the fluffed-out Swellow.

"_About… about everything. You just show up without rhyme or reason."_

"That's not true. Everything I do has a purpose. Including starting this conversation. Star, if I told you where your trainer was, would you freak out on me?"

"_Probably." _Sandsinger said for Star.

"_Just between you an' me, my dear friends, Sara is in Kanto."_

And with that, Rika waved to the three Pokemon that had heard what she'd said in Baraa and flounced off.

"_Well." _Saladreth murmured, _"That sure puts a monkey-wrench in things."_

"_We're going to Kanto." _Star said, ignoring him completely, _"Are you with me, Sandsinger?"_

"_What about me!"_

Gryff skidded by, her wings outstretched. _"I wanna come!"_

_She's a fast flyer, we can use her… _Star thought and nodded with a bird-smirk in Gryff's direction, _"Sure, let's go to Kanto!"_

"_Uhhhh…" _Sandsinger hesitated and looked around before clearing her throat, _"How far is Kanto?"_

* * *

"Finally, sleeping beauty awakens." The deep, rich voice of a female sounded just near Sara's ear and the blonde stirred again. 

The red-haired lady sat by her bed, white teeth glinting in the dim light of a fire sizzling and burning out in the fireplace. Sara was surprised to be in an actual bed, not a cloud in the sky. "Are…you an angel?"


	32. At the Shrine of Flying

**Chapter 32**

She shook her head with a wry smile, "No, I am not." The lady replied. Sara got a good look at her from her position; she was wearing a light blue tank top with gentle etchings of moth wings on it and a black skirt that matched her high black boots.

A Scyther clashed his scythes together as he entered the room with a loud cry. Sara flinched very visibly, the exclamation had reminded her head of how it had felt just a little while ago, and it continued to throb like that. She failed to see the furry white bundle he was carrying over to the lady by her bed and with a groan, Sara blacked out…

* * *

Elvina waved the paper she'd found in place of the missing Pokemon. "Uhhhh…" She bit her lip, "Guys, I think this is important." 

The mangled piece of paper was snatched by Devon, who read it and nearly fell over laughing, "What is this Elvina?" He exclaimed.

"Let me see that…" Pocky snatched it away from the boy and scanned it. She snorted and the corner of her mouth curled up in a half-smile, "Sandsinger." She said simply and read the note aloud, "'Deer trainors, the broccoli ish en Cantoo, we go get. Wif luff.' And then she put a music note and a couple of dots around it, a star and a plus sign with a bird afterwards, a carrot, a Trapinch, two wings floating in mid-air, four fuzzy… things, and a large feather. She's very original…"

"_Tisk." _The Houndoom that was sitting close to Elvina's feet cleared his throat and growled, _"You call that original? My dear, originality is painting a 3D picture of them leaving. But pictograms? Those were out of date in my time."_

"WAIT a second! They went to Kanto? Alone?" Rena exclaimed, biting her lip, "But Squee…"

"And Meep." Rika added, smirking in that mysterious way that seemed to get on Elvina's last nerves, "They went together. And so did Karen, with Huan tagging along. You never know about those two…"

"But Huan… how could he leave without…" Elvina looked down and said no more, just silently thought to herself.

"He'll be back." Rika said, smirking, "They all will. Or at least they should be."

"You're not making me feel very secure, psychic."

* * *

"_Are you sure they got your note, Sandsinger?" _Saladreth asked calmly as they headed the way of Kanto. (Or at least that's the way Sandsinger said Kanto was, so they followed her.) 

"_Of course! I put it where they could never miss it!" _She exclaimed in reply happily.

"_Oh no, where did you put it?" _

The Flygon buzzed impatiently at Star's pointed question, and said, _"In the stadium… fourth row up, seat sixty-six 'f'. They won't miss it."_

Squee and Meep giggled from atop their less hyper than normal playing on Saladreth's back, whether it was about Sandsinger or their own game, none of the other Pokemon knew. Karen and Huan also sat on the dragon's back, further down. It was Gryff that finally broke the silence, _"Why in the world would that be easy to find?"_

"_Because," _Sandsinger rolled her eyes, as if she didn't understand why Gryff dared not to know this. _"Devon was sitting in that seat when the shiny birdie attacked and Sara flew off on me…"_

"_I don't get it." _

"_Sandsinger's got a photographic memory!" _Squee squealed, _"She knows Cookie's shoe size!"_

Star snorted at the conversation, _"You know what? I think there's a good chance that that letter will never be found, Sandsinger. Now we're probably never going to be found or-"_

"_Hey look!" _Mellow interrupted, pointing a talon at a figure just ahead of them. Underneath the traveling Pokemon, the desert had already came and gone, they were now flying the way of a sooty area where the sky was thick with the dark stuff. It took Sandsinger a moment to recognize the figure for who he was.

Tarragon awaited them with claws poised to strike, but lowered them at the sight of Sandsinger, with a murmured, _"Little Flygon." _He had a small smile on his face as he flew over to greet the group of Pokemon.

"_It's another Sandsinger!"_

"_No Meep, this is Tarragon." _Mellow replied, _"He's like her. I think that they're-"_

"_TARRAGON!" _The female Flygon drowned out the last word he was saying as she tackled the said Pokemon.

He grunted and pushed her away quickly, rubbing the side that she'd hit, _"I feel like I'm falling apart, little Sandsinger. But it's still nice to see you."_

"_Let me guess." _Saladreth said as he looked from Flygon to Flygon, _"He's coming with us, isn't he?"_

"_You guessed it. Hey Tarragon…"_

* * *

"_I thought that Star hated Mellow." _Huan said to Karen as they watched the two Swellow sit together on a nearby tree, sharing a large berry, being beak to beak. 

"_You're just not romantic." _Karen replied, _"There are some things you gotta look at in a different way sometimes, Huan."_

The traveling Pokemon had stopped for the night close to a Pokemon Center, but not quite had the backbone to go into it. For one, Tarragon wouldn't have anything to do with the 'human' facility. He had, of course, agreed to come with him, as he had nothing else to do.

Sandsinger was the only one puzzled by his decision to come, but she didn't say what was on her mind. Instead, she was curled up next to him, feinting sleep. Meep and Squee were exercising their legs after the 'long' ride on the back of Saladreth.

Only the break of a twig gave away that there was something in the trees, perhaps watching them. Mostly it was ignored by the dulled senses of the travelers, but Huan had heard it, and he was the one who padded over to investigate what it was.

"'_Ello?" _The Eevee poked his nose close to the underbrush and had to scramble to avoid being slashed in two by the creature cowering there.

In a low, barely defined voice, it murmured, _"Go away." _When Huan made no motion to move, the order was repeated. Still nothing happened.

They stood there for a long while, Huan contemplating his navel after a while, and the creature just staring with blank eyes. Finally, it whimpered in its pathetically tiny voice, _"What do you want with me?" _And it stepped out of the brush and into a beam of moonlight.

It was then that Huan gasped and shuddered a pace back.

* * *

"Is she awake yet?" 

"No, be quiet."

Two sets of eyes stared down on the unconscious form of Sara, both oozing with impatience. The woman with red hair continued to her counterpart, "The Master said we should allow her to sleep."

"Too much sleep…" He replied. "I want to wake her up…"

"So do I, Arthur, so do I." She shook her head and gazed down at the small form of the man, who was only two-thirds her size. "But what of the Vulpix? Is she still comatose?"

"Yup. I was about to report that until you snagged me and Tasgan." He jerked a thumb at the bald man who was asleep over by the fire with his Farfetch'd sitting on top of him. His head was decorated with two different bands of tattoos, one being a ribbon band circling around the other, which was decorated with bird shapes. Tasgan was wearing a bright yellow and orange shirt and kilt, both in swirling patterns with edges like feathers that jutted out.

"Master will not be pleased that she has no useful Pokemon. He likes amusement."

The short, speckled man named Arthur coughed politely and pointed downwards, towards Sara, who was finally twitching awake. "Hey… it's the angel…" She giggled feebly, "Are you sure this isn't heaven?"

"Positive, my dear." The woman replied, pushing Arthur away with a murmured command. He sighed, and did as she bided, going to get pillows to prop up 'Lady' Sara's head. "How are you feeling?"

"Like… a Tauros herd trampled me."

"Well, you're going to have to get up eventually. There's work to be done, my dear."

* * *

"_W-what are you?" _After getting over his initial shock, Huan regained his poise and growled at the ragged figure of the Persian that had been hiding from sight, until now. Her fur was crumpled and clawed, matted in areas and totally missing in others. Claw marks defined her flanks and came up in one last, horrible slash across one shoulder. She looked like she'd gotten into a fight with a set of knives and lost badly. 

"_You see?" _She whispered, _"This is what always happens when I show my face. Go on. Shoo me away. You know you want to."_

"_What happened to you, at least?" _Huan ignored what the Persian had said first and inserted what he thought was a reasonable question. But the cat Pokemon thought otherwise, her remaining fur around the old claw scars ruffled up, and she bared her few remaining teeth in a hiss.

The hiss was what got the attention of Gryff and Karen. They went to where it was and stopped behind Huan. _"Just go away!" _Wailed the Persian as she watched the forces of the side against her double up.

She stepped backwards as the Eevee stepped forward, the limp in her front leg quite obvious. _"I don't want to hurt you." _He said quietly, _"Come with me, perhaps we can get you to the Pokemon Center."_

"_NO! I WILL NOT GO BACK TO THE HUMANS!" _The words echoed and attention from all the Pokemon around, a pair of sleepy-eyed Swablu murmured angrily to themselves, a Seviper and a Zangoose found each other in the dark and began to battle it out, and all of this was completely ignored by the Persian as she turned around and darted blindly, wanting to get anywhere but be around Huan.

She found shelter under Saladreth's belly and cowered there.

It took Huan a bit to recover from the shock of being screamed at, and the meaning of the words that the Persian had said to sink in. _"That's one messed up Persian." _Gryff commented, looking the direction in which the Persian had gone and not quite could see that far in the darkness.

"_We should handle her differently." _Karen sniffed as she pranced away towards Saladreth.

"_Coming, Gryff?" _Huan asked over his shoulder as he followed her, who dejectedly walked after him.

"_We'd better be sleeping in tomorrow…"_

* * *

Dawn had broken when the Persian finally decided to talk to them again. Saladreth was personally glad; he was getting cramps staying in the same position all night. As he stretched, the Persian murmured a semi-silent apology. 

"_Yelling is foolish, I should not have done it." _She said in quiet tones, _"Sorry."_

They talked for a bit, the Persian keeping her quietness. None of them mentioned humans or trainers after that outburst. _"So… what's your name?" _Karen asked.

Quietly, the cat's paws scuffled nervously, but she replied, _"Raggedshadow."_

"_And Raggedshadow," _Murmured Tarragon, knowing he'd step on a few paws and talons with the question he was asking. _"Did the human that attacked you have a Pokemon about my height named an Oxren?"_

* * *

"Hey Mothy, do you know what happened to my Vulpix?" Sara asked the red-haired lady after she'd had yet another rest. She was feeling better, and was worried about what was beyond herself now. 

The people she'd met, Mothy and a short guy named Arthur along with a strange man, Tasgan, had been really friendly towards her. They'd even given her a new set of clothes to change in, as her regular dressings were back with Elvina. She was whistling gently in a pair of stonewashed jeans and a purple shirt embroidered with little birds, along with violet flip-flops with the same bird design.

Mothy grimaced, this was just the question that she'd been dreading that the blonde girl would ask. "I think this is enough sun, want to go in?" She asked, desperate for a new subject. A gentle caw near her ear announced the arrival of Tasgan's Farfetch'd. The Pokemon bore a letter that she scanned quickly and a look of dread appeared on her face because of it.

The note had said what she dreaded most about the girl's Vulpix. But that wasn't important now; Sara was the only important one. "You changed the subject." Sara accused, "Mothy! Where is my Vulpix?"

"Y-you don't want to see her now, do you? There's so many different Pokemon to see… hey look, a Chikpea!" Mothy grabbed the green, chicken-like Pokemon and shoved him into Sara's hands.

"CHIKPEA!" He exclaimed, clucking happily.

The blonde girl glowered over the cover of green feathers. "Althea. Now."

Mothy saw she was fighting a losing battle, and sighed dramatically, "Alright, follow me…" She turned on her heel and headed back inside from the patio that they were standing on. Sara followed slowly, as to not upset her sensitive head, and followed Mothy as she lead her through the big mansion that she'd been in.

The Chikpea looked around with interest as they passed giant statues of Pokemon like Farfetch'd and Saladreth, walked on rugs decorated with tiny figures of animals of all shapes and sizes, and finally looked into a huge mirror that was carved in the shape of a Scyther. Mothy smiled at the dumbfounded looks on both Chikpea and Sara as she stepped up to the mirror where its 'legs' touched the floor and knocked twice on it.

There was a click, and then a sizable block of it swung back like a door. "Almost there." Mothy said over her shoulder as she walked into the darkness behind the mirror.

"Cool…" Sara murmured to herself and the Chikpea as she followed. He clucked agreement to the statement and continued to look around at the stone walls with interest.

The stairs led down and cut off at a slab of stone with the markings of yet another Scyther on it. Mothy tapped at the right scythe of the carving in a rapid style and it slid to the side, revealing another set of stairs and a plain door. "Lady Sara would like to see her Vulpix." Mothy murmured into the small, hardly seeable hole in the door and the person on the other side, Tasgan, let them in.

Sara barely saw Tasgan's look of sadness and regret, barely heard the gentle clucking of the Chikpea or Mothy's murmured, "I'm sorry." Her senses were filled to the brim at the sight of her Vulpix lying under a blanket, shuddering as if she were cold. But what was shocking was the appearance of the Vulpix, her fur was snow white, and eyes stained red.

"Althea!" The girl exclaimed, tossing the Chikpea over her shoulder as she ran to the Vulpix's side. A gentle bark escaped Althea's mouth, and she seemed to smile crookedly.

"_Sara…" _She murmured comatosely, _"I knew you would come…"_

"What did you do to her?" Sara demanded of the two people just looking down at her. "What did you do to my Vulpix?"

"She was like that…" Tasgan said, "When we pried open her Pokeball, she was like that. We don't know what happened to her."

They were then silent, Sara quietly hugging Althea to her belly, silently wondering what the Vulpix had done to deserve this. But after a while, the door was opened for another person who Sara didn't recognize. Mothy and Tasgan both bowed to him though, and stayed on their knees as he bent down to look at Sara more closely.

His skin was pale, and he had a face like a skull, with sunk-in cheeks and dirty brown brows. With a voice that cracked, he stated, "Hello, Sara. I've been really looking forward to meeting you."

Sara and Althea both looked up at him in puzzlement. Neither of which understood why this man was being bowed to, or why the Chikpea had magnetically come to sit on Sara's shoulder, but they could see he was of some importance. "Uhhhh… hi. It's a pleasure to meet you, but right now there are more important things on my mind, and I'm sorry for that." She replied.

"I see. Your Vulpix. A pity, she has such a beautiful coat…"

He stood up strait and looked down his nose at Sara. She got a good look at his black jeans and green shirt before he began to back up to leave, "My name is Windrider, by the way, if you were wondering." The man said and nodded to Tasgan as he backed up past the doorway. The door shut just as Windrider was turning around, and Sara got just a glimpse of white and green on his back before it shut completely.

* * *

Sara took her Vulpix back to her room that night and fell into a restless sleep. Neither of them had noticed that the Chikpea had trudged along, until he settled down on her pillow just before the lights went out. Sara had glared at him as she put her head down on it, and grumbled, "Don't snore." 

In the morning she was woken to the sound of a rooster cawing. "I didn't know Chikpea could make that kind of noise…" Sara muttered as she glared down at the rooster-impersonating Chikpea.

"_You don't expect a male Chikpea to act like a chicken, do ya?" _Althea joked weakly from her bed-nest.

"Good morning sleeping beauty!" Mothy exclaimed brightly from the doorway. "Windrider wanted to talk to you, he said it was important."

"Tell him to wait, please." She replied, "I just woke up."

Mothy nodded and left Sara to her peace with Althea and the Chikpea. "Okay, so which one of you are coming."

"_We both are." _Althea growled, _"Comatose or not, I'm coming!"_

"Chic, chic, CHIKPEA!" Added the male Chikpea enthusiastically.

When Sara was fully dressed, she took the two of them and followed the path they'd taken the first time to where Sara had first met Windrider. At the base of the Scyther mirror, they met up with a smirking Mothy, who took them the way to where Althea was, and escorted Sara and the two Pokemon she was holding up the second flight of stairs.

They emerged on a giant gray granite slab that was worn from the elements. Windrider was standing on the far side of it, under what took their breath away.

He was standing under a realistic marble carved Scyther that was colored to match a real one; it looked like a giant version of the Pokemon. It had its head looking downwards and eyes closed, with its two scythes crossing across its chest. "Welcome, Sara." Said Windrider as he gave the base of the statue a loving pat. "Welcome to the place that only my most honored of guests gets to visit. You see, this is no ordinary Scyther statue; it's one that enjoys watching a good fight. Welcome, my dear, to the Shrine of Flying."


	33. Pájaro Mansion

**Chapter 33**

Sara bit her lip when he was done with his speech. She looked from the giant statue to him, as if she did not believe he was serious that he believed the marble Scyther would enjoy it if they battle before it. When Windrider took out a Pokeball, she saw that he was indeed very serious. "But I have no Pokemon to battle you!" She said, "My only Pokemon is weak and in no shape to battle!"

"Chikpea." A low peep came from her arms. Looking down, Sara saw the Chikpea she'd been carrying around was glaring over at Windrider challengingly. "Chic pea!"

He jumped out of her arms and hopped over to the middle of the space in between Sara and Windrider, beak opened threateningly. "You have a Pokemon, even if he isn't yours in terms of being a captive of one of your Pokeballs." Windrider replied, tossing his own Pokeball to reveal a Masquerain.

The semi-large bug Pokemon spread his two wings out and cried. By the way they were spread, they appeared to be two large eyes, glaring down viciously at the Chikpea on Sara's side. He seemed to shudder when looking up at the eye-patterned wings, but the green bird crooned like a rooster and shot forward in his first attack, Peck.

Two real sets of eyes watched the battle, yet didn't. Out of sight and out of mind on top of the Scyther statue stood a Xatu with his eyes half-closed. In one eye he beheld the past, seeing what had already been and watched, observing. The other eye saw into the future, and two pathways were there.

One would lead to what he wanted, the other would not. And the Xatu couldn't allow any room for failure, this time. But patience was on his side. He would wait until the right time, until then, he would still be there. Watching, waiting.

Under him, way down under the Scyther statue, the battle was continuing, whether he was seeing it or not. The two Pokemon were evenly matched, to a point where they were doing no damage to each other. Sharpened leaves met sheer gusts of wind and neutralized together. Wing and beak cut and slapped, the fight raged on with no change in its furious pace.

"What attacks do Chikpea know?" Sara asked herself quietly, looking stumped as the watched the green bird vainly use another Razor Leaf attack on his opponent. That attack had been a guess; she truthfully did not know what the bird could do.

"**I am Dexter, programmed for the use of Sara Anne Wellington." **An oddly familiar computer voice chirped out helpfully. The Pokedex that Sara had thought dead for so long continued its monologue, **"System malfunction restored, back in action. Please scan the Pokemon you are in need of help with."**

Althea was staring; her mouth open, at Sara's back pocket. _"You still have that thing?" _She asked quietly, _"You're worse than Drake, with his Pokemap 2000!"_

"It works!" Like a miracle, as she saw it, her Pokedex had been restored… now was the time that she was happy for the old habit of putting the machine in her back pocket, even now. The Chikpea fighting for her side crooned helplessly as he was driven back by the new use of a different attack on the Masquerain's part, Icy Wind. He was suffering by the wing of the bug; the aggressive repeats of the ice attack were starting to freeze his wings to his body and feet to the stone ground.

"**Chikpea know moves such as Faint Attack, Growl, and Razor Leaf. They sometimes can use their wings in battle, when threatened." **Dexter droned, the computer voice not changed at all in its downtime.

Without even thinking, Sara exclaimed to the Chikpea, "Faint Attack!"

The bird perked up at the sound of the girl's voice, and quickly did as she said, and disappeared from sight. Masquerain stopped in mid-attack, seeing that the Chikpea was gone. Clueless, he turned to search for him, when he was slammed on the back with the bird's full weight.

Together they fell, Chikpea on the bug's back, to the ground heavily. Chikpea crooned his dominance over the Masquerain, and the second his ringing voice had ceased to echo, the bug used a powerful gust of wind on the ground and shot the bird off. For the first time in the bird's life, he got to experience flight for one brief, heart-stopping moment before meeting the ground again.

With one last, failing chirp, he fainted at Sara's feet.

Cheers erupted from Mothy, Arthur, and Tasgan. "Very good." Windrider murmured, clapping gently for both battlers, but his secretive smile held nothing but praise for his Masquerain.

* * *

"_Why are you still carrying him around?" _Althea asked, when they were back in Sara's room. After the battle's end, they had been ushered out quickly and back there. It was as if they had wanted the only 'useful member' of Sara's team to faint. 

"I don't know. He's cute… and he helped us back there. At least I would like to thank him." Sara replied distractedly. She stared down at her Pokedex, like she was waiting for it to grow wings and fly away. Thankfully, it did not do that, at least.

Her Vulpix snorted gently as she looked down on the still-fainted form of the Chikpea. _"We still don't even know his name."_

"Hopefully he'll tell us it. You sound better Althea." Sara looked up at her bleached Vulpix with a raised eyebrow; the fox was standing on her own on shaking paws.

"_Better… yeah, right…"_ Althea snorted as she collapsed in a white-furred heap. _"I don't even know what happened. You still haven't told me about it. You've been knocked out for around three days, something had to happen."_

"You're right, something did happen. But most of it, even I don't know." She replied, flipping open the Pokedex again. "Do you remember Adam?"

"_Of course. And I remember you nearly lost me to the said human." _The Vulpix let off a curl of smoke from her mouth.

"Yeah, well, he returned." Sara mumbled, "With Famulus… the guy with the greasy hair. And they flew in on Famulus's Aerodactyl and stole Karen."

"…_Well, at least they didn't want me."_

"Right, well I followed them on Sandsinger with Star following us. I hadn't let you out after that; I was saving you for reserve. So we arrived at this cabin place and found Dominus there with that wolf… thing called Catastrofate. They had Karen in a cage by then."

"_So then you talked to Dominus and threatened him, right?"_

"Uhh… no-"

"_You did… by now, I know how you handle some things."_

"Okay, fine. I threatened him. And he threatened me back, of course. But that was when Dominus started talking freaky and saying he wasn't Dominus. And it got really confusing for a moment, but that was when Catastrofate started talking like human and said he was Dominus!"

"_Uhh…"_

"Then everything grew dark when Catastrofate, or Dominus, held up his hand and pointed it at me. And then I woke up here after having the strangest dream…"

"_Alright, now ya got to tell me about the dream." _Althea replied with an impatient flick of her tails.

"Well, everything was really dark… and in the darkness I could hear a really harsh voice telling me to hold on to what I have. There was a shadow in the darkness, it hung over me. When I was around the shadow, I wanted to go to sleep. And then I remember Rena, and nothing else. That was when I woke up here."

"_Well, when I guess was around when you fainted, my Pokeball got really cold. At first I didn't think of it, but after a while, it got so bad that I was shivering. It lasted for a while, until somebody broke my Pokeball open. Any later, then I think that I probably would have died." _Althea sighed.

"Pea? Chikpea!" The Chikpea had woken up by then, and had heard some of what Althea had to say.

"_No, it was worse then what you were feeling today." _The Vulpix replied, _"It was over a longer period."_

"Hey Chikpea…" Sara murmured, "Uhh… thanks for what you did today. You didn't need to do that, you know."

"_It was nothing." _Althea translated, giving Chikpea a strange glare about at the end of what he had to say.

"Spill it, what else did he say?" She said neutrally.

"_Eh, what? Nothing, that was what he said." _Althea replied. Chikpea jumped up and down, making a loud racket as he contradicted the Vulpix was frantic shakes of his head. _"He said nothing else."_

"I think his actions say otherwise. Spill, or I shall start calling you Snow White."

"_You'd name me after a person from an old fairy tale?"_

Sara just smiled at the fox, "Well, answer one last thing and I'll leave you alone, Vulpix of mine. Were is your Pokeball now?"

"_Uhh… hehe… I really don't know."_

"That could be a problem, you know."

"_Yeah, but I think it's broken now."_

"But, that would mean I'm not your trainer anymore…"

* * *

"_This is the place. Her wavelength is here, I can feel it." _The Natu chirped disappointedly to what seemed like empty air as he stopped on a large rock and looked out. Ahead of him loomed a giant castle with several ramparts that painted a ghastly picture with their black spires reaching up to the clear sky. 

"_Pájaro Mansion, how quaint." _Only the bird sitting atop the rock heard the sarcastic, booming voice. He made a slight chirp at the Lugia that had spoken, and Artimus continued on, _"She got here, of all places."_

"_Where now master?"_ The Natu asked blankly, _"I have found her wavelength here."_

"_Now you must converse with my sister." _Artimus replied, _"I suspect _this _will make her happy, if nothing else will." _And he cut off the connection on that bitter note.

* * *

"_Nothing?"_

"_Nothing." _Sundav sighed, _"I cannot sense Althea anywhere. My apologies, old friend."_

Solorite had been looking pretty awful the past two days. He'd lost his only daughter, the cub that was the only living reminder of his lost love, a beautiful Ninetales. His fur was matted in places from being unkempt, and his dark orbs were bright red from 'no sleep' as he kept saying.

The warm beach off of Slateport was not very busy; it was a perfect place for a bright bird like Sundav to be, and also for a rare Pokemon like Solorite. At least without Rika around, they had enough peace to come up with plans; some that would never be mentioned to the others, other plans that could work, with some thought. In truth, the both of them were scatterbrained.

The Ho-oh could feel a slight brushing of another psychic type's mind, one that wanted urgently to talk to her. For a split-second, she thought it was Artimus and opened the connection with a slight flutter of hope. _"Lady Sundav, Lady Sundav!"_

A cheerful, shrill voice met her ears instead, and Sundav flinched visibly. _"I have something to tell you!" _He continued, _"It's really, really nice!"_

"_Can't it wait? I'm waiting for important information…" _She replied, _"My brother is about to contact-"_

"_It's from Artimus though!"_

Solorite was giving her a questioning look by this point at the very annoyed look that had crossed Sundav's face. But that was when it changed; she suddenly was sitting up straight again with a tiny smile of hope. _"Yes?" _She prompted the Natu expectantly, _"What is it?"_

"_It's Lady Sara! I've found her wavelength!" _

* * *

"_I never thought I'd see the day that I missed Star's uninvited comments." _Althea observed gently as she and her trainer sat in Sara's new, official room. 

"You have no idea." Sara murmured back, "We don't even know where we are, for goodness sakes! She… no, all of our friends, could be millions of miles away!"

"Pea." Chikpea nodded, "Chikpea."

"What'd he say?"

"_I don't want to tell you." _

"You're so helpful, Althea. Soon I won't even understand you, if our luck holds out."

"_Don't jinx it!"_

"What will happen if it does occur, though?"

"_You'll throw another Pokeball at me and find a Translator."_

"I have no Pokeballs, and my Translator is gone." Sara replied with a sigh and dug in her pocket, "These are the only things I have."

On her palm, balanced there, was a miniature bell, her Pokedex, and a small shard of the firestone she'd once had. The shard glowed the same fiery red and orange, but upon further investigation, was completely useless for evolving Pokemon. (Sara had poked her Vulpix with it.)

"Chic pea!" Chikpea squealed, plucking the bell off of her hand and tossing it. He followed after with an uneven glide.

"**Chikpea enjoy round or shiny objects." **Dexter said helpfully upon being pointed at the pleased Pokemon.

"_Idiot." _Althea coughed under her breath.

* * *

"_Where's Squee?" _Puff asked with his eyes huge. _"Where's Meep?"_

"_I don't know kid." _Amber snorted, _"Why don't you ask your trainer?"_

"_He left!"_

"_Why don't you ask his friend?"_

There was a pause, in which Puff stared at Amber, and Amber stared back. Finally, the Squee squeaked, _"Where are Meep and Squee?"_

The Combusken let off an exaggeratedly long sigh, but it was Woop that answered this time. _"They went to where the Marshmallow People live, in the big city of the marshmallows!"_

"_Really?" _

"_Sure!"_

"_Yaayyyy! I wanna go!"_

"_I'm surrounded by simple-minded idiots." _Fiendre stated simply as he got up and walked off. An amused group sat under the tent with their Pokemon, the ones that understood the conversation were hiding smiles behind one hand, or in Devon's case, tapping the Translator that was his wristband.

"Why isn't it working anymore?" He asked, puzzled, "It was just a moment ago…"

"Probably dead. It looked cheap, anyway." Drake answered distractedly. All throughout the past couple of days, he'd been only spoken in broken fragments that normally made no sense at all. He had been caught with his eyes wandering the sky, self-consciously not looking anywhere near where the groups of Pokemon were, or to where Sara normally sat.

The only one that got a little more attention from him then normal was Seadra, but even he was looking a bit neglected.

"I made that."

Pocky's retort was quiet, but full of annoyed emotion. It went right over the brown-haired boy's head though; he continued to stare into space.

"_Lift your heads, smile!" _Sundav ordered as she walked back to the area, ignoring the awed looks she was getting from just about everyone who didn't know her personally. _"I did it! I've found Sara's wavelength!"_

"_With help." _Solorite coughed under his breath, and continued in a more hearable tone, _"And we're trying to contact the missing Pokemon as well!"_

"_But Sara first." _The Ho-oh added quickly.

* * *

Raggedshadow's breath did not increase in rate, she did not even flinch. _"That is not the reason for my appearance." _She replied with a sharp growl, _"Indeed, it was far worse then the Pokemon you named. Have you ever met a Drasgar?"_

"_I cannot say I have." _Saladreth replied, _"Care to elaborate?"_

"…_The fire dragon?" _Sandsinger asked absently, _"Yeah, I've heard of them."_

"_What?" _She continued, looking around at the many pairs of eyes set at her.

"_Yes, the fire dragon." _Raggedshadow replied sharply, _"These wounds aren't just claw scars, claw scars can heal up so that it does not appear that much fur was lost. Mostly these are white burns. If they had turned black, I would look worse then a splotchy Miltank."_

Meep and Squee had paused in their game of 'chase Star around the tree' to listen. Even the Swellow had stopped next to them, for once, and not up in the tree instead. Karen cleared her throat and asked another question before the Persian would be too upset to answer anymore. It was a phase that she, at least, wanted to take advantage of. _"So are you going to continue?"_

Raggedshadow looked around at the mass of Pokemon around her, and nodded once, stiffly. _"It was a few twelve-moons ago." _She murmured, _"Back when I still had a trainer…"_

She swallowed and lashed her tail once, before continuing, _"He'd angered a very powerful man who sent his Drasgar upon us, and the dragon tore us up nicely for his master. The only one to live to tell her tale was… me. But I should have died. And frankly, there is nothing left here for me."_

"_But you're still useful… if you can find a human that can-"_

"_-Tolerate my defects, then I'll be a lucky little girl." _Raggedshadow's laugh was more of a harsh cry, telling of what she lost in a way that no words that escaped her mouth could have.

"_I seem to be asking this a lot; are you thinking what I'm thinking Sandsinger?" _Stormshadow inquired.

Raggedshadow looked from the large water dragon to the female Flygon, and back again. Her look was puzzled, but soon at least it would be explained to her.

* * *

When Sara sat down at the large birch-wood table that had little engravings of birds on it, she was feeling dizzy and sick. It was like two somethings were poking at the back of her mind, trying to get into her inner thoughts and feelings. At a glance at her arm, she knew that she was ghostly pale, but Windrider and the rest didn't seem to be noticing. 

Althea and the Chikpea were still tagging along with her, but neither of them knew why they were doing so. For protection? Perhaps, but what was there not to feel warm and friendly about?

But as Sara's slightly blurred gaze looked through the crystal statue of a graceful swan, she thought she could see something wrong with the seat behind Windrider, it looked as if it had two extra sets of arms. She saw him pick up a wine glass and raise it to her with the words of, "For a wonderful battle, we toast to you, Sara."

His and her glasses, as well as Mothy and Tasgan's, were upended and a good bit of the wine (or in Sara's case, cranberry juice) was drained away from each. It somehow made her feel better, and sleepy as well.

A strange meal followed of a roasted bird of some sort, potatoes that had everything you can think of and more done to them, and finally, cheesecake for dessert. Throughout the meal, Sara could get no good look at Windrider, and he even left right in the middle of the serving of the roasted bird to take up the stairs before she could get a good look at him.

It was all just… strange, in a word. It was strange in the fact that more and more she noticed that she and her Pokemon were getting to the point where they were accepting more food on a full plate, it was strange when they were shooed away just the second that Althea stopped picking at her food.

* * *

The next morning, Sara woke up, feeling better, to a completely silent room, apart from the gentle clucking of Chikpea in his sleep. Althea had one of her reddish-tinged eyes fixed on her, _"You're awake." _The Vulpix said absently. 

"Yeah…" Sara replied sleepily, "I am."

An awkward pause lapsed in between them for a while, before Althea murmured, _"Wanna go explore?"_

* * *

"We'll never find our way back." Sara said quietly to the Pokemon she was carrying as she took yet another left turn and ended up in another stretch of hallway that was decorated with maroon and gold wallpaper in the same strange feather pattern they kept seeing. 

Althea, the only one that had come along for the ride, nodded silent agreement. _"But perhaps we'll get outside if we continue on like this." _The fox murmured, _"I'd like that…"_

As if her words jinxed them, the next door that Sara opened greeted the two of them were a beam of sunlight. They were on another stone slab like the Shrine of Flying was on, but this time there was no giant stone Scyther at the end, just a small stone house-sized box. The large door that led inside was open just a crack and darkness loomed inside.

"_Are we going in?"_

"Why not?"

A couple of minutes later, after struggling with the heavy door, Sara and Althea had gotten into the house-box and were poking around it. There was a desk lamp sitting on a small, dusty little chair that still had some life left in it and in the wall unit, it gave them light enough to see what there was standing in.

A small study, probably for filling bills and keeping up with checks. It was lined with books embossed with golden writing that had developed a layer of dust. _"This place is boring." _Althea complained, nudging Sara's leg, _"Let's go…"_

Sara had to nod in agreement with her; the ten year-old's want to be around boring books like this was nonexistent. But that was before one book in particular caught her attention off the dusty bookshelf at eye level to her. Instead of being a business book, it was labeled 'Journal 1990-1995'.

"I think I found something." She replied instead, took the book unceremoniously from the shelf and let it open to a random page. If by luck or by fate, it happened to land on one that soon got her full attention.

_October 21st, 1991,_

_Father has gone crazy; him and his Xatu will destroy this mansion with their plans of 'remodeling' it. Truth be told, I believe his want for material possessions is irrational and immature for a man of his caliber. _

_Or perhaps it is just as it should be, the two of them plotting against me. I know he doesn't want me to inherit the mansion, so he's trying to get me to hate it too much. It's because of my… issue. I know it to be true. He's embarrassed to have a son that has wings. _

_But mark my words, Pájaro Mansion shall be mine. I just need to bide my time and wait for the old man to croak._

_Eric R. Windrider_

Sara read the page to her Pokemon and they exchanged slightly puzzled looks. "I wonder what this means." The girl murmured, flipping to another page, this time landing on the last one that had been marked on.

_April 7th, 1995,_

_Finally, it is done. Father finally is gone, without his will being changed… The mansion and all its servants are mine! And Mackenzie didn't think it would happen… but now the only thing left to do is to give away that stupid clingy Xatu of Father's. I personally don't know what its problem is anymore. The thing just goes crazy at the sight of me. Perhaps he's trying to get revenge upon me for Father._

_Whatever it is, at least he knows what really happened._

And after that, the message was cut off without any more. Sara sighed in disappointment and shut the journal. As she was beginning to put it back, the stone door opened again and a very startled-looking Windrider came eye-to-eye with her.

"What are you doing here?" He recovered, going to a furious tone in seconds just as Sara finally saw fully what he'd been hiding this whole time. Two of the upper portion of Scyther wings were jutting from his shoulder blades.


	34. Saved by the Demon Bird

**Chapter 34**

"I see no difference." Siron murmured, looking from one of the black bands balanced on his right hand to the silver-tinted ones on his left.

"_There is a difference." _Dominus growled, _"Don't be a Pidgey-minded fool, I don't want to have to get rid of you like those other two…"_

The man smirked at the threat, "You haven't gotten rid of me for the longest time, why now of all times? Show me." He pushed the bands back at the wolf-creature and leered.

"_Your Fearow, if you will."_

The brown-plumed bird was released from her Pokeball with a caw. One of the black bands was around her neck and gave the side effect to her, the red eyes. With one sweep of his claws, Dominus removed the old band and paused for a moment before tossing the silvery version at her.

It opened up at the last moment and latched onto her neck at the same place. But after a moment, it was gone. "It's defective." Siron smirked, "She didn't change."

"_Look again, nimrod." _The faintest outline of a clear band could be seen in certain light, and as Siron squinted at it, he saw and his smirk turned into a full-blown smile. _"No side effects." _Dominus continued with a proud gleam in his eyes, which lasted for only a second before disappearing.

"_But we have yet to test its effects on Pokemorphs and humans."_

* * *

"_That's her, that's her!" _The Chikpea jumped up and down, pointing one of his wings in the general direction of the mansion's courtyard where a couple of small dots were, obviously one was struggling and the other one was trying to keep her still. And then a bright little flash showed up of a certain Vulpix flaming. 

Natu watched this with concern, _"Shouldn't we help her?"_

"_Do you think we can survive a fall like that?" _Chikpea countered, looking down at the fifty-foot drop they would have to go through to hit the ground around the same area that Sara and Windrider where.

"_You should have thought of that before, when you were leading me here." _

"_But where's the fun it that?"_

"_You're hopeless, and we can't glide. So, come on, at least we can try going around the long way…" _He hopped over to an open door and beckoned to Chikpea before disappearing into the darkness beyond it.

* * *

"_See, isn't this better then breaking our necks?" _Natu asked in a furious whisper when they'd reached the courtyard in one piece and were beginning to head the way that they had thought that Windrider had taken her.

"_But what about Saraaaaa?" _Chikpea wailed, _"She'll never make it now!"_

"_Dramatist." _Was the reply he got as the two small birds continued on in silence, into Pájaro Mansion again, where the bright gold and red was blinding compared to the gray colors of the outside stone.

* * *

The Xatu continued to wait for the right time to come, it was so close yet that he could almost feel Sara right there in front of him. She was to be his greatest prize, the last possession he would take before going outside his old master's mansion walls to recruit more loyal followers. 

He was the Mansion Master now though, everything and anyone there was his to control, and he did so by an iron wing. The filthy hybrid Windrider was just the first of a handful to fall to his will. It was _his _fault that the old master had been killed, from spite and had gotten what he justly deserved. A lifetime of service to Guardian, the Mansion Master.

The sound of scuffling came from afar, the eye that sighted the future in the Xatu showed Windrider struggling forward while holding a struggling Sara around her waist. _"Ahh, finally, she shall come." _He whispered, turning to face the stony door.

He was under the Shrine of Flying, in a secret compartment that was sheltered from view. It was carved from the same stone block as the Scyther above, a bombproof shelter that he had used many a time to keep himself from being noticed.

Guardian didn't have to wait long before they were there, Windrider tapping the stone door with what sounded like his foot. The door opened with a psychic flick of the Xatu's mind, and first a white Vulpix was kicked inside, falling to the ground where dust accumulated in her fur, and then Windrider entered, holding Sara to his chest where she kicked and struggled weakly.

_Perfect._ The Xatu thought as the door slid closed again from his doing. He hadn't seen the pair of tortured red eyes gazing upon him as the room was locked closed.

* * *

"She's not even trying." Drake murmured sourly, taking a sip of his drink with a bitter grimace. "Saladreth and Mellow are out there somewhere, and she's not even trying to contact them…" 

"_Give her time." _Seadra sighed, _"Even Sundav cannot do three things at once."_

They were on the beach, Seadra bobbing up and down a little bit out to sea so that the waves wouldn't push him around, and Drake sat a little distance away from the tide. He looked put out by his Pokemon's calm. _"Pride has been many a Kingdra's downfall." _The sea horse continued.

"Woopa!" Agreed a Pokemon that had just broken the surface of the water. Woop smiled and playfully splashed Drake with water salty enough to sting his eyes.

"_You're not the only one on the beach today." _Seadra seemed to grin at his spluttering trainer before he sunk into the water and out of sight.

"_For once, the overgrown sea horse is right." _Grumbled Fiendre, pushing his thin muzzle into Drake's cup of Coke and spluttering it right back out. _"I don't know how you humans can drink that stuff… it's beyond me."_

"You can have it now." The brown-haired boy scowled, all he'd heard were barks and snuffles from the Pokemon.

"_Heh, you can't understand me." _The Houndoom snickered, _"Very good, indeed. If I told you that I'm far _wiser _than Solorite, what would you say? Nothing! But if you must know, that Absol-"_

"-Is listening to every word you say." The Absol finished for him. "Drake, don't mind Fiendre, he's-not going to interrupt me-and isn't wise. So there, old hound."

"_Equally old… creature." _Fiendre nodded to Solorite mockingly before he got up and padded away without a backward glance. When he was a couple of feet away, however, he snorted and kicked at the sand.

Solorite watched him go with an amused look upon his face. "Drake," the Absol said, without turning to him. "We've almost gotten though to Sara." He finally gave the boy a knowing gaze, "So don't worry."

* * *

Sara's mind exploded with a burst of pain the second her eyes locked with those of the Xatu. She could hear his deep voice clearly, _"It will hurt worse if you struggle." _When she opened her mouth to say something, all that came out was a muted squeak. 

Althea had gotten to her paws, and was quick to avoid Windrider's grasping hands. She bristled furiously, and sent another flame his direction, which hit its mark. The Scyther Pokemorph screeched as the flames caught his clothes and spread. The Vulpix turned her sight away from him the second he dropped to the ground to try and put the fire out, and glared at the Xatu, whose eyes had begun to glow a deep purple.

Opening her mouth, she aimed a Flamethrower at the motionless Pokemon. The blast of flame went flying towards its target with deadly accuracy, and at the last moment, it was flicked aside when the Xatu opened one wing and it hit against the head of the flame, knocking it over to hit harmlessly on the granite wall.

It was just enough of a distraction for Sara to be freed of the Xatu's grasp, and she saw the furious bird turn his head in the direction of the white Vulpix and a dark purple aura surround both him and her.

Althea was sent flying into the back wall, where she hit it with a dull thud and dropped to the ground, fainted. Right beside her, Windrider had recovered from his scorching, and was getting to his feet again.

This time, Sara got in a scream of fear before the Xatu's mind closed around hers. It was loud enough to echo, catch itself in the air and become a booming force whose voice was heard clearly outside the Shrine. A couple of seconds went by, in which Sara was brought to her knees and forced into a full-body bow to the Xatu, before a sharp gale of wind pounded against the nearly invisible door, shaking it fully.

Another gust hit the door with enough force to shake the whole shrine, and it rocked everything in the small room to one side. With the third blast, the door shuddered one final time before caving in, where a sheer blast escaped into their presence.

Standing there in the midst of the breeze was a shadowy form that was little more than a cloud. Its two burning red eyes were sunk into a face that was framed by a beak that was proportionally too big for its face. _"There has been," _it whispered, voice dangerous and low, _"enough suffering."_

From its misty heart came a flash of cold white that expanded slowly, finally taking on a solid form outside of its body to form a ring of glowing energy. All the heat in the room, mostly from Althea's fire, vanished all of a sudden, leaving a shell of cold behind it.

The ring expanded, and silently, did it's task as it was released from its bond from the creature and became a wave of energy that struck the Xatu dead in his chest. The blast also knocked Sara back, where she fell and the meager contents of her pockets slipped out, Windrider hit his head hard against the wall and fainted.

When Sara's vision stopped spinning, she managed to see that the blast had frozen the Xatu where he stood, his gaze still in the direction of the icy creature. It was then that she guessed what the attack was. Sheer Cold.

The girl was staring as she blindly grabbed her Pokedex and shoved it back into her back pocket and felt around for the firestone shard. The creature did not look her way for a while, instead it went over to the frozen bird and scanned it,_ "He is not dead." _Sara tried to identify its gender from its voice, and guessed it was female, even though she was not quite sure with the deep, growling tone.

She shuddered slightly, "Uhh… that's good." Sara replied, and was surprised when the creature's head snapped around.

"_It is not good!" _It screeched, exciting a whimper from the girl. _"You cannot say that of this…"_

Sara would have said something in reply to that, but her voice was cut off again when the creature raised one misty wing and continued, _"Lady Sara _of the Day_, your lacking the one trait that you need, and that's dominance. Without it, you're as good as useless." _It turned away from her sharply by the end, muttering to itself.

Finally, she managed to look away from the strange creature and saw that the firestone shard was lying on her fainted Vulpix's fur, where it glimmered slightly. Sara blinked at it, about to take it back up, when she noticed the snowy fur around the shard had turned a very light tint of rusty red again.

"_I'm not one to enjoy being ignored." _Sara started when it spoke again, this time looking at the frozen Pokemon, and not her. _"If he is let alone and is still alive, his hold on the others here will still be intact. Actually, it's still intact now. If that Scyther half-breed was to wake up right now…"_

It shrugged for effect. "So… why don't you just kill it…?" She asked.

"_And end all the suffering it is causing." _The creature continued, _"Because then that would be taking a life. Do you see why that would be wrong?" _And without waiting for an answer, it kept on talking,_ "Yes, there is the obvious. And then you must consider the lives of those he is effecting."_

It seemed to smile before turning to the Xatu, its red eyes glowing icy white for a moment, before the ice melted a little bit, and reformed into a new shape, where the ice was encircling him tightly. _"I have decided." _It verified, _"Now follow me, before anything else happens."_

Sara got to her feet, thinking it better to humor the creature than get it angry. She picked up Althea and the firestone shard before following after the misty creature, looking slightly dazed.

"_Lady Sara, it appears you have friends." _The creature said, and Sara looked over it to see that her Chikpea friend and a Natu were rushing over there as fast as their little legs would carry them.

Upon getting closer, the two birds avoided the creature with a wide loop around it, and chirruped at Sara's feet as if they were surprised she was still there. "What are they saying?" She asked.

"_They're both apologizing for being late, blaming their inability to fly for it. And the Chikpea wants you to pick him up. The rest of what he has to say is nonsense."_

"And is that Xatu dead now?" The question was calm enough, but the look on Sara's face was quite serious, which was a bit new for the ten year-old.

"_Yes." _It replied. _"He is dead. It was for the better to give mercy…" _A pained look crossed the visible features of its mostly shadowed face.

Sara had a Chikpea in one arm by then, and was holding Althea as steadily as she could with the other. It was times like this that she wished there was a way for her to recall Althea, but without Pokeballs it was impossible. "And… and one last question. Who are you?"

"_I?" _It replied, giving a short laugh, _"I am Blatos, the nightmare of ice."_

Now, Sara had been okay until the creature had said that. Her insides turned to ice the second she digested the words, and she swallowed hard. Blatos was one of the fallen legendaries that she'd heard murmurs about, mentioned with Rikeren and Oxren. "You-you're-"

"_Blatos." _The Pokemon replied, _"Yes, that is me. Don't run, I'll be on my way soon enough." _It fixed Sara with a level gaze, _"You've inherited a mess, Sara, _Lady of the Day Sara, _but you can't let yourself fall into positions like this again. If you die, then you're giving over what your enemies want badly. And that's it, that's all I have to say. You were lucky this time Lady, but next time this demon bird probably won't be around to help you, nor anything else."_

Spreading its two misty wings, Blatos gave Sara one last look before adding, _"Goodbye Lady Sara, may we see each other again some day, perhaps on more friendly terms." _And then without another word, the bird-like creature jumped, flapped her wings, and vanished over the mansion wall.

Casting one last look behind her at the Shrine of Flying, Sara finally said, more to herself, "Let's get out of here." And she walked away from the scene, a Natu following at her feet, a Chikpea clinging to her forearm, and a white-tinted Vulpix in her arms. Her Pokemon adventure had become quite strange…


	35. Meeting in the Middle

Do you know what this chapter is? Chapter 35, the one that makes Sara's Quest break 100k words! -gasp- And without the reviews, I'd still be struggling to write chapter five. Thank you all, this chapter is dedicated to everyone-Mooneh, Skitty, Matt, Kitsune, etc.-who has ever given a review.

**Chapter 35**

"…Major disturbances in the Pokemon population. It's been said that Pokemon know when something's going to happen; wild Miltank are seen migrating to higher ground days before a flood, Absol gather when a disaster is about to strike. Not much is known as of yet why, but a great deal of flying-types are migrating to the Hoenn Region…" The news would have been interesting, and captured attention, if the newscaster weren't speaking in such a dull monotone. Devon yawned and flipped the channel.

"Hey, I was watching that!" Jacob objected, and leaned over the back of the sofa to grab the clicker. Devon held on though, and they were pressing all sorts of buttons. The poor television began to flip channels at random, going from another news station to a kids show to a documentary on Lapras migration and then back again.

This lasted for a good couple of minutes, until a Chansey walked by with a threatening glare upon her face. The two boys came to a truce and flipped the channel to a different station that was in its commercials. Being the only humans in the Pokemon Center really had its advantages, after the tournament's spectators and trainers left, Slateport turned strangely quiet.

Drake was off by the beach probably, and the girls had all left to do a dreaded thing. Shopping. Elvina had proposed the idea, Pocky accepted, Rika had laughed and nodded, and Rena had absolutely refused to follow. It took the three girls together to drag the Pokemorph off to the shops, an amusing sight for the rest.

The commercials ended, and the show began again. Devon and Jacob snickered quietly as they changed the channel again from the black and white movie entitled _Love's Revenge_.

* * *

"Hey look, isn't that cute?" Elvina ran off in one direction and, groaning, she was tailed by three other girls. 

"When she said we should go shopping, I didn't know she meant that we'd also be running around like frantic Torchic." Pocky sighed.

A growl emanated from Rena's throat when the blue-haired girl called over her shoulder, "C'mon you bunch of Slowpoke!"

She turned on her heel and began walking in the opposite direction, muttering, "I'm going _shopping _this way." When she was asked. Rika kept silent as a shadow, only watching Rena through the corner of her eye.

"Well, what do you have to say?" Pocky asked as they rushed to catch up with Elvina, who was holding up a rather large plushie of an Eevee with a wide smile.

"We'll see her again, soon enough."

* * *

"_I thought that psychic types could make themselves heard." _Althea said, giving the Natu down below a queer glance as he hopped around Sara's legs, peeping jovially. 

"_We can." _He replied with his mind, not even bothering to glance up. _"But it's quite a bother."_

"_It's not a bother when my trainer can understand you!"_

Sara sighed and paused, "Are you two going to continue on like this for a while?"

"_Yup." _They replied in unison.

"Alright, go take it somewhere else then. I'll be here." Bird and fox trotted off with faint crackles in the grass. Chikpea looked up and gave Sara a glance that must have meant, 'Thank goodness, I needed a rest.' Which wouldn't be correct for him, since he hadn't done any walking.

The girl sighed and turned around, looking at Pájaro mansion in the distance. It's stone walls caught the morning sunlight and gave it a golden appearance among the grass gently blowing in the breeze. "It doesn't look so big from here, does it?" She asked, and Chikpea twittered gently in reply.

"_Lady Sara." _The Natu called, perching on top of her feet. _"My master just sent me a message… he wants me to bring you to him."_

"Uhh… who happens to be your master?"

"_Master Artimus."_

"Huh?"

"_You'll see." _He grumbled, _"I'm going to teleport us now…"  
_

"_Wait! You can't go without me!" _Althea stumbled back and allowed her trainer to scoop her up. Letting off an exaggerated sigh, the Natu's form began to glow with power, and a psychic grip took hold of them while the world began to melt and blur around them. A gust of air and the rush of flying came to them, and after a few seconds they were suspended in mid-air over hard, pebbly ground.

Landing with an 'oof!' Sara muttered under her breath while Chikpea, Natu, and Althea fell on top of her. Chikpea chattered accusingly at the Natu, whose feathers were drooping. _"It takes… too much… energy…" _The tiny bird gasped, _"We're not… there yet…"_

He shuddered once before fainting right there. _"Looks like we're stuck here." _Althea said, swinging her copper-tinted head around.

"Wherever 'here' is." Sara replied, "All I want is to go _home_."

She flinched when a cold drop hit her head. Looking up, she saw a large stalactite right above her head, and a darkened roof of rock as well. Another realization came when she found that the upturned, stump-like object she had just sat down on was pure, hard rock. "A cave, we're in a cave that actually has light." She shifted off of the stalagmite when another droplet of water hit her head.

* * *

"_Hey look, it's the pretty birdie!" _Squee squealed, running forward and tackling the great bird on her chest. Sundav had only just closed her wings as she set down on the hard, packed earth that the group of Pokemon was resting on. The sun was low in the sky when the Ho-oh had found them. 

"_Why, hello little one." _She said gently, running the dull edge of her beak against the Naki's back. _"It's good to see you all-and who are you?" _Sundav's gaze came to rest on Raggedshadow.

"_A friend, I suppose." _The Persian rasped.

"_Mmhmm." _She replied, looking around at all the Pokemon assembled there, _"I want you all to come with me, I-" _The Ho-oh faltered as she felt the presence of her brother chance, he felt incredibly angry. Sundav turned away from the bewildered group and attempted to touch minds with Artimus, and heard only a little bit of what he was saying before the Lugia realized what she was doing and cut her off irritably.

"…_You think that just because you have my sister's favor that you can do anything, little human…"_

"_Sundav?" _Karen asked respectfully when the minutes trickled by, and the Ho-oh remained shock-still.

A gentle, barely audible cry emanated from Sundav's open beak. _"N-no…" _She turned back to where the others were watching her with mild concern, and said, _"Everyone come closer and touch me, we're going to have to teleport."_

* * *

Sara and her companions landed in another disheveled pile the second time the Natu-who finally told them his name, Nessa-teleported them. They were in a large oval-shaped cavern with ceilings that were high, and the walls were almost black. It was darker in here than in the first cave, but an inner bluish glow radiated from the pool that occupied the majority of the space, excepting in one area where there was enough rock for a fairly large creature could stand. It was lucky Nessa hadn't teleported them over the pool… 

"_Master Artimus, I have brought them." _The Natu said as loudly as he could in his drained state, and bowed so that his little beak touched the group. The pool's calm water developed a ripple in the middle, which quickly spread throughout the water, increasing in force until miniature waves rocked the surface.

First, a pointed head emerged from the surface, cool white against the dark walls behind. Two sharp black eyes fixed upon Sara as the creature rose out of the water, showing a back where two rows of fins folded up from being exposed to the surface again. He kept his two wings folded as his long with tail swished around threateningly behind him. The massive Lugia sat on the surface, probably treading water to keep his weight up.

"_So _this _is little Lady Sara?" _Artimus said, his normally loud voice turned into a boom from the cave. The Lugia lowered his head to where it was a few feet from her face and his dark eyes narrowed.

"Y-yes, I'm S-Sara, errm… Lady Sara…" The girl stammered, taking a few steps back for personal space.

"_I don't know what my sister sees in such a weak human." _He growled unpleasantly, returning to a more upright position, _"Sundav has been looking for you, and you've been in my territory this whole time. Well, what do you have to say for yourself? You upset her!"_

His two wings unfurled with a _snap_ and the water they hit on the way out formed two blasts of water that hit the cave wall with force and an echoing crash. It would have been a touching and rare show of brotherly affection-especially for one such as Artimus-but it left Sara cowering as far away from the legendary as she could get, pressed against the moist wall.

Artimus continued on savagely, _"You think that just because you have my sister's favor that you can do anything, little human-"_ At that point, the Lugia snorted and turned his head, as if something annoying had attempted to land on it. _"-but you can't."_

"It wasn't my fault!" Sara whimpered.

"_Wasn't-you're-fault!" _He roared, the cave walls shaking on their own from it, _"I suppose you're going to tell me that Grumpig can fly next!"_

The girl stared, unable to speak. She felt hopelessly outmatched by the Lugia, who appeared to be in such a rage that he wouldn't listen to a word she would say. Now she wished Sundav was here, more than ever.

As if the Ho-oh could hear her thoughts, or just by good timing, a gentle light formed in the other side of the cave. The tense moment passed as Artimus whipped his head around, and was confronted with Sundav, who stood upon the area that must have been meant for her with its size. More shapes appeared around her and also around the cave.

Meep and Squee giggled, unaware of the intense feelings going on between the two legendary birds. Althea gasped in shock when Karen padded up to her and sat down, purring softly for her friend. Saladreth sat passively right next to Sundav's left wing, where he'd appeared.

Star and Mellow quickly separated, the female making a beeline directly for her trainer, taking the long way around the pool and its inhabitant. A scarred, ratty-looking Persian came to sit beside Saladreth and watch Artimus with undisguised interest. And the rest, they settled where they were and gazed around.

"_Next time you take a trip," _Star said when she reached Sara, _"Remember to take me with you, not Althea."_

The Swellow was surprised when she was caught in a hug that rivaled the one that she'd gotten when she first met her trainer. _"And Sara." _She continued breathlessly.

"Yes Star?"

"_I can't… breathe…"_

"Oh, sorry." Sara loosened her grip, but still held the bird in the hug.

Finally, Artimus and Sundav began to speak. _"I'll just be taking her now." _The Ho-oh said icily, _"Thanks." _Her tone turned sarcastic with that, and the Lugia replied with the same venom.

"_Oh sister, it was no problem at all. Your friend is such a _dear_." _He spat.

"_Sara, come." _Sundav ordered with a bob of her head. Her flaming red eyes burned with anger as the girl came closer, and as did the rest of the Pokemon there, except for Artimus. Nessa had shot his master a dirty look as he hopped by Sara's side.

The infuriated Lugia had already turned away by the time Sundav gathered her strength and teleported them away.

* * *

When they returned to Slateport finally, Sara found herself being caught up in numerous hugs from her friends, but Sandsinger had managed to give the first hug. _"I missed you Sara!" _She had exclaimed as she caught the trainer up in a crushingly powerful embrace. 

"I missed you too… but Sandsinger…"

"_Yes Sara?"_

"I can't breathe…"

"_Sorry…" _The Flygon had stopped then, looking a little bit embarrassed.

Rena had returned a little bit later than the rest of the girls, looking paler then usual. It appeared that she had pulled one of her pant legs down as low as possible. But her greeting to Sara was normal enough…

Drake wasn't there at all though, and when Pocky pointed the direction of the beach, Saladreth had nodded and said, _"C'mon Mellow."_

The Swellow attempted to ignore him as he tried to land on one of Sara's shoulders, but Star kept snapping at him and he failed. The dragon waited for Mellow to get a little ways away from her before he reached out and captured the bird in his powerful jaws, making sure not to hurt him though.

Looking exceedingly smug, Saladreth turned and sauntered off in the direction of the beach.

The dragon's claws were muffled in the sand, and he managed to sneak up on the lone figure there without difficulty. Seadra's eyes widened, and was about to say something when Saladreth shook his head and placed the ruffled Mellow down on the sand, where the Swellow grumbled and followed.

Drake jumped and whirled around when he put his head on his trainer's shoulder. "You're… back." The boy said, the most intelligible thing he thought to say.

"_Yup, we all are." _Saladreth indicated with a tilt of his head back where Slateport was. _"And you're coming, even if I have to pick you up and carry you Drake."_

Seadra snickered quietly. _"If you tried that with me, it wouldn't be pretty."_

"_I don't really think I'd favor to carry a spiny Seadra, especially not in my mouth." _Saladreth answered with a toothy grin.

"Of course I'm coming!" Drake finally exclaimed, "But a ride would be nice… please, Stormy?"

Saladreth's scales turned a darker shade when Drake came close to using his full nickname, _"Alright, alright, get on."_

* * *

"So, where are we going to go next?" Sara asked that night when they all piled into the Pokemon Center. Everyone was out, and the wild Pokemon, like Tarragon and Raggedshadow, had decided to spend the night. The Persian really didn't have much of a reason to, unlike the male Flygon. 

Tarragon was also called over by the nurse, who wished to see his side. He groaned slightly as he did so, and she bandaged it up right there on the spot. "Whose Flygon is this?" She asked the trainers, and got no reply except shaken heads.

"He's wild." Elvina answered.

"Well… then…" She bit her lip and sighed finally, giving Tarragon a gentle push back over there, "Never mind. Make sure you watch his actions though, if he's following you around."

In reply to Sara's question, Devon said, "We don't really know actually. Perhaps Mauville City again, where there's a Hoenn gym."

When Tarragon sat back down next to her, Sandsinger muttered, _"Your side was hurt all this time?"_

"_Yes little Flygon." _He replied with an exaggerated sigh. _"But it didn't bother me that much, really…"_

"_What attacked you?"_

"_Hmm?"_

"_You were attacked, what did it?" _Sandsinger repeated, a demanding tone intersecting her voice.

"_Do you remember when I asked Raggedshadow if she was attacked by Oxren?" _She nodded and beckoned for him to continue, _"Well…"_

The female Flygon gave a nervous laugh, _"But, but, you fought Oxren?" _

"_No, I _fled_ from Oxren."_

Sandsinger looked around to see if anyone had heard that, but the humans were engaged in quiet conversation about where they'd head next, and the majority of the Pokemon were paying attention to that and not to the two Flygon murmuring in the corner.

She was finally convinced nothing was listening in and continued, _"Tarragon, why did you tell me-no, all of us when we first met up?"_

"_Because it's embarrassing. And I don't trust the rest of them…"_

"_But you-" _The female Flygon cut herself off and stared at the grinning Tarragon. Finally, she smirked just as she thought of something, _"Does that mean you're not the Desert Master anymore?"_

"_Exactly right. So now I can be your official stalker!"_

"_Oh cool, does that mean I can hit you upside the head like… like…" _She cast a glance over at Rena and finally thought of the word, _"…Cookie does with her stalker sometimes?"_

"_Please no, you won't have a stalker for very long if you do that." _Tarragon laughed.

Sandsinger let off a disappointed little buzz of her wings, just as Rena suggested that they try the Slateport Battle Tent, which had just finished all of the battles that had been booked by the trainer crowd that had been there. "Yeah, we should do that!" Drake agreed, and soon the deal was struck. They'd head out for the Battle Tent tomorrow, and the day after that they'd head for Mauville City. After that, they'd decide later.

It was time to go to sleep, the humans spread out across the Center and soon their respective Pokemon settled in with them. Meep and Squee continued to play for a while, like normal, as the two kittens made up the sleep in the daytime. Mellow actually left his "Berry" alone that night as he decided to be with Drake instead.

Sandsinger and Tarragon continued to talk after all the lights went out, but in gentle whispers and often having to repeat themselves because of that. When they finally fell asleep together, the rest of the group was already sawing logs…


	36. Backwards Order

A/N: This chapter was originally going to be a chapter-swap with Digital Skitty writing it, but that kinda… flunked. / So here it is at last, the 36th chapter. I've deleted the announcement and put this in its place, so there may be problems for reviewing. …That is, if you guys aren't too mad at me for the long wait and will still review. I promise the next update won't take me _four months_. And you can hold me to that, too.

**Chapter 36**

"Hello, you have reached the house of Katie Wellington. I'm sorry I can't be at the phone right now, but please leave a message!" _Beep. _

"Mom, you really need to fix-" _Beep. _"-Your answering machine." Sara said lamely to the blank screen.

"_Message twenty-seven." _Star chirruped from her trainer's head. _"Are you going for a record? Or just driving your phone bill into the wall?" _Sara ignored her, and pounded the numbers back into the machine. _"She's obviously not there." _

The Swellow must have not seen the furious look on her trainer's face. Two days at Mauville City, and no answer from Katie Wellington. A lot had happened in those few days, and the group that Sara had following her had thinned out a great deal. Nessa had returned to Artimus, for Mew-knows-what. Jacob had said his good-byes as well, and rode off on Alkie to see what else that Hoenn could offer after winning a spectacular battle with Mauville's gym. Fiendre had finally gone from the group as well, muttering about idling around with no real action. Raggedshadow, for some reason, had followed him.

And then there was Hoppity, the Chikpea that Sara had befriended. He'd been saying preposterous things—most of which no one would translate—which amounted to that he wanted to be Sara's last Pokemon. Her gaze flickering down at the five Pokeballs at her belt, Sara wondered if Hoppity would be an intelligent capture. He was rather… not the kind of Pokemon her friends were taking very well.

Her mother's answering machine played again, and Sara hung up hard. "Why isn't she answering?"

"_She ain't there." _Star pitched in.

"But my mom never leaves her house for _two days_! Where could she be?"

"_Not there?"_

A rustle came at Sara's feet, and she looked down to see Solorite sitting there, looking solemn. "I rather think that you should leave Sara alone." He advised Star, "Before she bites your head off in the manner that I've seen wild Pincer use on Pidgey."

Star ruffled and said nothing, an invitation for the Absol to go on. "My danger sense hasn't been tingling as much as normal, when I think of Elemental Ridge." He said, "I've been meaning to ask you—Sara, do you miss your home region?"

She nodded quietly, "Ah, well, I think it's settled then. I've talked with Sundav, and she's agreed to take us there." The Absol said, and the blue stripes along his flanks seemed to glow, "…And before you ask, Rena has agreed to come as well."

"What about Devon and Pocky?"

"She's going to drag them with us if they refuse." And Solorite seemed to snicker as he got to his paws and took a few steps away, "And one more thing," he said, looking over his shoulder, "I think you should take a good look at Star before you go." Then he was gone.

Sara touched the Swellow at her head, and found that the bird had fluffed up to about twice her size. _"W-what could he be talking about?" _She stammered out.

* * *

"_Lady Sara, we're leaving. Please hurry up!_" Sundav called, getting just a bit impatient. 

"_Sorry Sundav!" _Star twittered from the Pokemon Center's door as Sara skidded up to where Sundav was standing. She continued dryly, _"We were just off setting a record for the amount of messages one devoted girl and her Swellow could leave in one day."_

After Sara had stopped panting, she retorted with, "My mom would never understand you, Star. And I haven't taken any longer than Elvina or Pocky."

"Yeah right!" Pocky exclaimed, "I was here fifteen minutes ago."

"Sure you—" before Sara could offer a proper retort to that, Sundav cleared her throat to gain everyone's attention again.

"_I need you all to return your Pokemon to their balls… now." _The Ho-oh said in a commanding tone. Star gave a small twitter of complaint before she was swallowed up in a red flash, while Amber pointedly refused to go back into her Pokeball until she was tricked to go into it.

When all the Pokemon were in their Pokeballs—save for those without a trainer—Sundav spread her multicolored wings and instructed them all to touch some part of them, so she could teleport them all. While this was happening, Hoppity cheeped happily and jumped into Sara's arms, happy to have a ride. When she was done with this, and had all the trainers, Solorite, and Tarragon touching the feathers upon her wings, Sundav asked rhetorically, _"Do any of you have any questions?"_

Rena raised her free hand, and asked, "Why is Tarragon going with us?"

There was a collective groan, and Devon calmly whispered in Rena's ear, "You do know she didn't want any questions, right?"

Rena blinked, and nodded after a moment. _"Why does it matter that I'm coming, anyway?" _Tarragon asked, ruffled.

Sundav snapped her great beak together, startling the group. _"If you don't mind." _She said, voice low and hissing with her impatience, _"We need to leave, now. If you want to argue, save it for some other time, or stay here and deal with it without the rest of us."_

She didn't wait for a reply. Rather, Sundav arched her neck and let off a low humming sound. Quickly, the sounds and sights of Mauville City blurred together until the humming was the only coherent sound, and everything had turned black. There was a rushing feeling, wind passing by in a buffet of cold, and then nothing.

* * *

Sea green eyes opened to see crimson ones staring down with unwavering intensity. Elvina jumped slightly, sitting up. "I'm not that frightening, am I?" Solorite asked, not without a hint of amusement. The Absol sat down, eyes fixed solely on her. 

"No, you're not. You just…surprised me." Elvina said hastily, standing up and shaking fine grains of sand from her clothing and hair. Solorite continued to smile. "Why was I out, anyway?" she asked, looking around. White sand, a matching pearly sky, and a dark wave rolling up onto shore. She was at a beach. Not a tropical one, however. The air was just nippy enough to be noticed, and Elvina was guessing the water was pretty cold as well.

"Sundav has just teleported you all a great distance. It is only natural for humans to black out, for whatever reason." supplied Solorite. "Sometimes I wonder about humans, their weaknesses to usually key components in our overall plan…"

The Absol had added that last part in a sigh, but Elvina caught it nonetheless. She decided to be the better person and not to comment or start an argument. "Wait…Solorite, where are the others? Sara and Rika and everyone."

"Not everyone is gone." He noted, tilting his head in the direction of three other sleeping forms. Drake, Pocky and Devon were still there, the last listed snoring softly. Elvina nodded slowly, looking at the rest of the scene. A few Wingull were gliding idly overhead, occasionally giving their squeal-like caws. They appeared bigger than the Wingull that Elvina had seen before. The water below them was choppy and dark, signaling a storm. Elvina's eyes lit up, however, as she spotted a Dewgong and a pair of Seel playing just out to sea.

"Hey! This is a place for ice and water Pokemon, ri—" Something had just hit her foot, interrupting her excitement. Looking down, her first impression was that a snowball had just attacked her shoe. Her second was that it was no snowball. It was an ice ball.

The ice ball looked up at her with big, round, bright blue eyes, sparkling with adoration. Elvina promptly realized that it was a Pokemon. The ice Pokemon smiled, a pair of sharp fangs revealed.

"_I welcome you to the beach, Blue One._" The ice ball chirped, rocking back and forth gently against her foot.

"Hmm…a Frozic." Solorite commented, studying the small Pokemon before him. "Obsessed with blue, usually travel in groups, ice Pokemon…"

"_Hiiiiii!" _The little ice ball exclaimed to Elvina. _"What's your name?"_

"…Elvina." She replied, blinking at the Frozic.

She heard a slight shifting sound in the sand farther along the beach, and saw out of the corner of her eye that Pocky was getting to her feet. The other teen surveyed the scene with one brow arched, and smothered a yawn. As she passed by him, Pocky gave Devon a gentle kick on the small of his back, which was successful enough to make him snort in his sleep.

Then another of the little ice balls rolled up to Elvina, sitting by her unoccupied foot. She looked down at it, and the ice Pokemon looked back up. They stared at each other for a good while, before the Frozic spoke up. "_You're pretty._"

"Uh, thanks." She replied uncertainly.

"_You're blue._" The Frozic continued blandly, a smile revealing its sharp fangs.

"Uh, yeah, I am...?" Now she was beginning to feel very awkward. She edged away, trying to catch either Solorite or Pocky's eye for them to save her.

"_You're a very pretty shade of blue. Especially your hair._" The ice ball continued on, undeterred.

"Uh...thanks...again?"

"_You're—"_ Elvina never got to see what else the Frozic thought she was, for at that moment, Devon jerked awake with a rather loud shout. Both of the Frozic that Elvina had attracted were startled enough that they jumped and rolled away.

Devon grabbed something that had been perching on his shoulder, and looked at it with sleepy distaste. "Where did ice balls come from?" He asked with a drowsy slur, pulling his arm back to throw what he was holding.

Elvina realized when the object whimpered that it was another Frozic. She exclaimed, "Wait Devon—that's a Pokemon!" But it was too late, Devon had already tossed the Frozic towards the ocean. Making a quick decision, Elvina ran after the Frozic, catching it in mid-air before it reached the water's surface. She let off a sigh of relief that Devon had been lazy with the throw.

She was painfully aware that four sets of eyes were now trained to her. In the silence that followed, Elvina turned red. "Good catch." Solorite consented finally, breaking the silence. The Frozic, who Elvina had caught upside-down, rolled over, creating a slick feeling across her palm. She looked down to see that the Frozic was staring back up at her with admiration in its icy blue eyes.

"_You saved me." _It said.

"Uhh… yeah. I did." Elvina replied blankly.

They stared at each other for a while longer, before the Frozic, _"Thank you, Great Blue One!" _It rolled off her palm, where it joined a small group of its kind, all chanting the same thing over and over. _Great Blue One, Great Blue One… _

"Oh. No." Elvina squeaked.

She looked over to the others, and saw that all but Devon and Drake were snickering with amusement. "A little help, anyone?" She whispered in their direction.

Thankfully, Solorite came to her rescue. He stood in front of the ice balls, towering over them. "Scoot, would you?" He asked, voice rich with good humor, "The Great Blue One needs her space."

"_She can have my space!" _One of the Frozic squeaked.

Though it took a little coaxing from Solorite, the Frozic eventually rolled away, out on their own business. "Well, that was amusing. Where are we?" Devon stated, poking Solorite when he returned within range.

"Ahh…" The Absol looked around, taking a deep breath of the slightly humid air, "We, dear friends, are in one Elemental Ridge's biggest vacation spots. Arsha Beach, right on the coast of Elemental Ridge. Sundav dumped us here to relax."

"Relax? You've got to be kidding me." Drake sighed, "Where'd Sara go? We could at least battle in one of the gyms if she was here…"

"You can battle without her." Devon stated, "Unless… you need the moral support."

"Save it." Drake snorted when a teasing tone crept into Devon's voice.

"Sara," Solorite rumbled, cutting him off. "Is in Brittle Branch Town. With Sundav, and the rest. And she should probably be waking up right about now." He shrugged. "Sundav didn't want to have too many humans to look after when she woke up… so here we are. I, for one, am going to take advantage of this vacation, and get one of those things you humans call a 'tan'."

Solorite was on the receiving end of stares. "What?" He asked when no one spoke up.

"Nothing," Pocky said, shaking her head.

"I say we should get something to eat. I'm starving!" Drake exclaimed. The others had to agree with him, after a few days of being knocked out, food sounded good. Civilization was a ways walk down the beach, in the distance dark pointed roofs seemed to sprout from the ground everywhere, making it seem that they were walking towards a bed of stakes.

Elvina felt the heat of the sand through her shoes, and looked up at the sky curiously. "It is about noon." Solorite said when he caught her squinting to see the placement of the sun.

Before she could reply, someone was screaming, "Out of my way! Out of my way!" The dull sound of feet pounding on sand came closer, coming from a girl huffing and panting as she pushed her way through obtusely, shoving Devon off balance when she elbowed him. This new girl was gone a second later in a flurry of red curls.

"Looks like someone's in a hurry," Pocky commented. Devon grumbled something sourly and rubbed the spot where he'd been hit.

The rest of their walk to the city didn't incorporate any more instances such as that. Actually, it was rather boring. When the beach abruptly ended in concrete and steel, Elvina let off a sigh of relief. There was nothing like seeing civilization, especially since this slice of civilization has a hotdog stand nearby.

Devon was the first one to get to the hotdog stand, however, and took little time looking at the small menu posted over the concessionaire's head before reciting: "I would like three hotdogs with catsup, extra mustard, relish, horseradish, chili, and cheese on them please."

The concessionaire looked at Devon like he'd just summoned Mew. "Errm… is something wrong?" The blonde boy asked nervously.

"Yes," the man replied. His dark eyebrows knitted together, "I don't sell hotdogs."

"But… hotdogs are on your menu. Right there!" Devon pointed at the menu, and the man looked up at it for a second.

"Oh, that was there from the last guy who owned this stand. There's no hotdogs here. …But, can I interest you in a corndog?"

Devon thought for a second. "Sure, I guess. If I can have some catsup for it."

"I don't have any catsup either." The concessionaire shrugged helplessly, "Sorry. But here's your corndog…"

The man bent down and rustled through jars and containers on the shelf at his feet. He opened a freezer with a sticky sound and brought out a corndog, which he offered to Devon by the stick. "Fresh from the freezer." He said with a smile.

"…Errm…" Devon was pushed out of the way by Pocky, who quickly took control of the situation.

"Don't you have to cook it first?" She asked calmly, "I don't want my friend to get sick off of an uncooked corndog."

"It's precooked." The concessionaire snapped.

Pocky nodded calmly and waved to the man, "We don't want it. Thanks." She pulled Devon along with her before he could utter any sort of complaint.

"Let's try a more normal place… like there," Pocky continued, motioning with her hand towards a squat building marked in bright red neon lights: **Eric's Incredible Subs**.

"Oooh… subs. I'll try ordering this time." Elvina offered quickly. She led the way inside. The air was thick with the smell of baking bread and the surroundings showed promise: the tiny tables scattered along the floor all had someone seated behind them, enjoying their lunch break.

Taking her time before ordering, Elvina stood considering what kind of bread she wanted. "Can I help you ma'am?" The middle-aged woman who was supposedly in charge of making the subs asked. She wore a hairnet and a sort of contemptuous fake smile, as if she experienced customers who couldn't make up their minds all the time.

"I'd like a six-inch turkey sub on white—"

"We ran out of turkey yesterday, sorry." The woman, who barely kept the amusement out of her voice at that, interrupted Elvina.

"Okay, ham then."

"Ham? We've never sold ham."

Giving up, Elvina sighed, "Then what kind of meat do you have?"

"We have corned beef."

She laughed at Elvina's disgusted expression. "I hate corned beef." The girl muttered, "Anything else?"

"Nope, sorry, the lunch rush took everything else out."

Elvina grouchily snapped a thank you before returning to her friends. "The only meat they have is corned beef."

Drake shrugged, "I like corned beef." He flinched when the other three turned to stare at him. "…So I'll just be ordering my sandwich."

He approached the sub-maker and ordered a foot-long corned beef sub on white bread. The only thing that got out of her was a sinister sort of laugh. "Sorry, but the last of our white bread just went bad. …Can I interest you in wheat bread? It's all we have left."

Drake sighed and abruptly turned back, shaking his head. "This is nuts."

"Might I make a suggestion?" Solorite got all attention upon him before saying, "Why don't you order the opposite of what you want?"

"But they're out of most everything."

The Absol just shook his head and smiled. "Just watch." He said and walked over to sit directly below the counter, where the woman couldn't see him.

"H-hello?" He whimpered in a small, youthful voice.

The sub-maker blinked and leaned forward, but she still couldn't catch sight of Solorite. "Can I help you little boy?" She finally asked.

"My daddy sent me to get him a sub!" Solorite replied, giggling in excitement.

"What kind of sub?" She prompted kindly.

"…Uhh… he wanted corned beef on Italian bread." The Absol stammered.

"Oh, I'm sorry honey, but we ran out of Italian bread—" _Ding. _It sounded like some sort of timer had gone off. "Excuse me for a second." She rustled over to where a new batch of bread had finished cooking. "Little boy, we don't have Italian bread, but some white just finished cooking. Would you father mind eating white instead?"

"Nope." Solorite said, turning his head slightly to wink at Elvina, whose eyes had grown huge. When the woman had turned to get the meat, the corned beef shredded in her hands and let off a disgusting reek.

"Oh no, the corned beef is bad now…" chewing on her lip, the woman recapped the container and nervously looked around, "Um… I'll be right back, little boy."

Solorite sat back and yawned calmly. "We're out of corned beef little boy." The woman said when she came back hauling a couple of containers with her, "But I just found some turkey and ham. Would you father like one of those?"

"He likes turkey." The Absol chirped.

"Ah." The woman quickly put slices of turkey on the sandwich and pushed it down. "What does he want on this?"

Solorite glanced back to Elvina, who lipped, _lettuce, tomato, oregano, and mayonnaise. _He said, "Onion, jalapenos, salt and pepper, and mustard."

The woman paused. "We don't have any of that. But we do have…"

She listed several things, including what Elvina had wanted on her sandwich. Solorite named them off, and then the sandwich was finished. The sandwich was wrapped up, and the woman named off a price. "Oh look, here comes my _sister _to come pay for this." Solorite said loudly, motioning for Elvina to come.

On cue, Elvina stepped forward and gave the woman an obnoxiously happy smile, "Get one of those _Pokemon Weekly _magazines while you're at it." Solorite whispered. Elvina glanced over to the rack where chips and magazines were laid out, and snatched up the requested copy. She paid for it all, enjoying the way the woman glared at her mood shift.

"That was brilliant." Elvina said to the Absol when she got seated and waited for Pocky, Devon, and Drake to repeat Solorite's feat. By then a couple of other people had accumulated in the line.

Solorite gave an Absol shrug, "I've had to do something like it before. After I realized what city we managed to end up in, it made sense as to what was happening."

"Oh?"

"We headed south instead of north, and didn't go to Sayan City." He continued, "Instead, we're in Accalem City. Ever heard of the place?"

"…I know the psychic gym is here, but that's about it." She admitted.

Solorite nodded, "That's true. Accalem City is also… backwards. I don't really know how it got this way, but whatever you ask for here, you cannot get if you ask for it directly. You saw what happened just now. I asked for corned beef and it was expired, you wanted turkey and they'd run out of it. Backwards, I tell you."

"Scoot," Devon said, trying to get Solorite to give up his seat.

"And where will I sit Devon?" The Absol asked with a hit of amusement in his voice. Before the boy could answer, he continued, "Why don't you sit on the floor for once?"

Devon paused for a moment, before Pocky grabbed a nearby chair and dragged it over to their table. "There's room for one more chair." She stated nonchalantly.

As they were finally eating, thunder crashed outside, and the small sub-shop was again filled as dripping people shuffled in to get away from the sudden downpour of rain. "Looks like we're not going anywhere for a while." Elvina commented, "Unless someone brought an umbrella?"

"I'll use sunny day if you give me the other half of your sub, Elvina." Solorite offered. She'd gotten too large of a sub by accident, since the woman made a sub big enough for a grown man. Nodding, she passed the untouched half to the other side of the table, where Solorite carefully cut pieces off with his claws and ate them.

It brought a thought to mind, and Elvina suddenly exclaimed, "We forgot to feed our Pokemon!"

"Now's as good a time as any." Solorite commented.

"Most of these people wouldn't enjoy being pushed into the corner of this place while Saladreth eats." Drake said.

"Oh, c'mon, Saladreth isn't that big." Devon rolled his eyes.

"Are you all ready to go?" Solorite interrupted before an argument started. When everyone replied in the affirmative, he led the way and went outside into the rain, while the trainers looked on. Raising his head to the sky, Solorite closed his eyes and a flash of orange raked across his horn, to become a spark at the very tip that floated upwards. When it was higher up, the spark let off several orange waves, which first evaporated the remaining water and dispersed the clouds, then worked a little magic on the sun, making it shine brighter and give off more heat.

"Wow." Elvina said.

"I know. Do you have that magazine?" Solorite replied, and nodded when she held it up. "I want to read it later…"

"You read?" Drake asked.

"Of course." The Absol shrugged. He shook out his fur, spreading a small cloud of droplets. "Now come, I don't want to see a hungry pack of Pokemon running after me the next time I look behind me."

The Pokemon Center was a short walk from there, and accepted them just as the first clouds were forming as the sunny day attack lost some of its effectiveness. Instead of a Nurse Joy, there was a slim, kindly looking woman in her place. "Can I help you?" She asked Elvina.

"Yes, I'd like to get my Pokemon healed please." She replied, holding out four Pokeballs.

"…I'm sorry, but the healing machine just broke. Nurse Joy is trying to find out what's wrong—"

"—It's the stupid microprocessor again!" Came Nurse Joy's normally kind voice.

"Again?" The woman at the desk exclaimed, "The healing machine must be defective, Nurse. Microprocessors shouldn't die like that."

"You're probably right." The Nurse sounded very muffled at that point, "Wait, do we have trainers waiting for their Pokemon to be healed? Goodness Marcia, offer them some food while they wait!"

"We ran out of human food too! When's the next shipment coming in?" Marcia replied.

"Offer their Pokemon something to eat, then! And… it was supposed to be here this afternoon."

"What types of Pokemon do you have?" She promptly asked the trainers. "Other than the Absol I see… we ran out of food that normally appeals to dark types… sorry about that."

"No problem." Solorite answered, ignoring Marcia's staring, as if she hadn't seen a talking Absol before. "That stuff doesn't appeal to me anyway."

"Right…" she stammered. Elvina then named off every type of Pokemon none of the trainers had with them, and Marcia replied that they had none of those, much apologies, and named off the correct flavors.

As Elvina sat back watching their little pack of Pokemon eating, she sighed to herself. "Accalem City is a really strange place." She commented.

There was no reply, but a shuffling of paper as Solorite carefully turned the page of his magazine with one claw. He looked comical in the position he was in, spread across the floor on his belly, tail swishing back and forth contentedly, and every once in a while he would give a gasp at something he'd read. Solorite looked like the Absol equivalent of a schoolgirl at a slumber party.

"Is something wrong?" Solorite asked calmly when he noticed Elvina was still looking at him. She smiled and shook her head.

_

* * *

Sara looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings. Small pillars of stone jutted from the ground, and her heart jumped from the sight of what they were. Tombstones. Little mounds of dirt were everywhere, and as she continued to walk, she felt like she was out to sea somewhere, going up and down with the grooves of the dirt. There was no grass growing anywhere, and Sara almost could feel her feet sticking to the ground, but it seemed to only be her imagination. _

"_Hello?" She called, and it echoed over the barren expanse of land. In turn, the wind blew heavily and threatened to knock her over. A raucous call came from up above, from a Murkrow. _

_The next thing Sara knew was that she was being followed. Two slow shadows tailed her wherever she walked and came inching closer whenever she stopped to take a breath. She noticed them when they were close, and was greeted by a low growl. Sara let off a high-pitched scream and took off running, only to hear heavy paw steps behind her. Both shadows turned out to be Houndoom, barking at the top of their lungs at their escaping meal._

_Another of the hounds joined in on the chase, trying to cut Sara off by jumping in front of her. She skidded to a stop for only a second, before darting off in a new direction perpendicular to her pursuers' path, to hear a dull whimper when the first two collided with their comrade. Her victory was short-lived, however, as a fourth Houndoom jumped into the chase, causing Sara to change directions again._

_The Houndoom pack repeated this trick with her two more times, leading Sara to believe that they were trying to steer her wherever they wanted. The tombstones were less numerous now, and looking ahead she saw what the pack had been cornering her to. With a sheer cliff ahead of her, and six barking Houndoom behind, Sara found herself trapped._

_She stopped feet from the edge and turned around to see that the dogs had slowed down, panting lightly. They stalked forward and branched out, providing no gaps to escape through. Panicked, Sara looked around one last time before screaming, "Sundav! Sundav, help me!"_

_The Houndoom growled at their prey's loud noises. But another voice lifted over their growls, saying, _"You cannot always look to Sundav for help."

_Feather light, another shadowy creature landed upon Sara's head. It let off another Murkrow caw, but the girl was no longer fooled by the façade Blatos was in. "Blatos? Why am I here?"_

"Remember when I told you that I hoped to meet you under more peaceful circumstances? Well, I lied." _Blatos replied, _"Finish her."

_The pack started closing in on Sara again. She took a few steps back on impulse, just to find with her foot that there was no more land to step back on. Glancing back, Sara saw the endless black pit that yawned underneath the cliff she stood upon. Blatos made no other sound, just sat harmlessly on the blonde's head as the leader of the pack let off a howl and jumped forward at Sara. She ducked automatically, and the dog was sent sprawling over the edge, down into the abyss._

"Good." _Blatos crowed. _

_Sara got no chance to reply, as three more of the hounds closed in on her. "Oh no…"_

"The middle one, it limps." _The Murkrow imposter murmured. Sara looked to see that she was right; the one heading directly for her had a limp in its gait. Each of the Houndoom jumped at her at the same time, and Sara, thinking fast, punched at the wounded one's limp leg. It whimpered, but still landed on top of her where it wanted her, while the other two landed next to the first. Sara's head and upper back no longer had the support of the ground underneath them. _

_She felt a burning line of pain across her middle, which spread quickly, and she was suddenly very weak. Blatos sighed as she flew in front of Sara's vision. _"You lost. They would've killed you had this been real."

_"R-real? This wasn't—"_

"No. It was just a test."

_The Murkrow Blatos looked very cross as she spread her wings and cawed. The tombstones, cliff, and Houndoom dissolved, leaving Sara lying spread-eagled over what looked to be a cloud. It was white, fluffy, yet couldn't be a cloud… clouds wouldn't have been able to support Sara's weight. She felt better, her energy returning to her quickly. "Why didn't you tell me it was a test?" She demanded of Blatos when she appeared in her line of vision in her true form._

"You wouldn't have taken it seriously," _the nightmare creature growled._ "You did pretty bad not even knowing it was a test."

_"What do you expect? I'm only human." Sara replied._

"Do you think Dominus is going to take it easy on you just because you're human? No!" _Blatos snapped._ "Do you think Sundav will always be around to save you? No! You may be a little human, but you'd better learn some self-defense."

_"So… you're here to teach me?" Blatos nodded._

"You're asleep now. It's the perfect time to teach you."

_"But what if I wake up?"_

"Ha… do you really think you can escape from this dream?" _Blatos challenged. Sara looked around, at the cloud they were riding on, and the bright blue expanse above. There were no sharp implements around that she could use to wake herself up, and after pinching her arm a few times, Sara shrugged._ "When I release your mind, then you can wake up. Sundav or Solorite would be able to tell that I'm putting you into a trance, but that's only if they try to get you to wake up and fail."

_The demonic bird shook her head, as if to clear it. "Why would you want to keep this a secret from them?" Sara asked finally._

"Sundav would not like my mettling." _Blatos sighed simply,_ "So you need to keep this a secret, or I won't bother teaching you anything. By the way, I'd better be letting you go soon, it's almost sunrise where you are. Since it seems we're going to have a lot to go over, we're going to start with the very basics. Next time, you're going to face Ledyba. Be ready for them."

_With that, the cloud and blue sky turned black as Sara fell into dreamless sleep._

"Sara?" Next thing she knew, a rather impatient Rena was poking her in the side. "Hey, she's awake!"

_"Finally."_ The sharp voice of Star replied.

Sara opened her eyes and sat up, to find that she had been laying on her sleeping bag, fully dressed, with Rena, Rika, and all their Pokemon clustered around her. Meep and Squee were fast asleep on her legs. "How long have you guys been staring at me like that?" She asked.

"Oh, not long." Rika shrugged, "Sundav would be with us right now, but she flew off on… business, she said."

"Business? What business is more important than—"

"I reckon she's meeting with other legendaries right now." Rika said with a shrug. Her violet eyes glimmered faintly.

Rena cleared her throat, "By the way, I think we found where your house is." She pointed behind her, where one of the cottages was surrounded by police tape. "The policemen won't let anyone pass, so they pointed us in the direction of Professor Appawich's lab."

"Sara, you were right," Rika interrupted, "Mom was kidnapped." Sara coughed, a sinking feeling in her heart. "But… the kidnapper left a clue. The Professor has it, and will probably be willing to show you what it means."

A furry head rubbed against her arm, and Sara reached over to absently pet Althea. "A-alright." She murmured, "Let's go over there, then."

She recalled Meep, and Rena did the same with Squee, and then she got to her feet, just to immediately stumble back down again. Her legs felt like they'd gone through a triathlon, they had been numb at rest, but refused to work when called upon. It was just a dream. Sara thought, as if trying to coax her legs to move with that thought. It didn't work.

_"Do you need me to carry you Sara?"_ Sandsinger asked quickly. Sara nodded; feeling a twinge of happiness through her otherwise devoid emotions as the Flygon quickly placed her trainer upon her back and followed after Rena and Rika. They kept a distance, though, and Sandsinger was moving at a slow enough pace for her to turn around and tilt her head to one side. _"Will you be okay?"_ She asked.

"I'll be fine." Sara replied. She was surprised at how flat and monotone her voice sounded. It didn't fool any of her Pokemon, but the four of them let it drop, and Tarragon and Hoppity remained silent.

Silence. It let Sara slip into her own self-imposed trance. Her mom was gone… the woman who would always pester her daughter, undeterred, about her relationships and being… well, a mom. What if the person who'd kidnapped her was in some way related to Dominus? Who was she kidding—it was probably Dominus himself, angry over her still being alive.

_"Sara, we're here."_ Karen said into her trainer's mind, shocking her away from her reverie for a moment to see the looming laboratory building before her. It dwarfed every living creature around it, and Sara felt small, even on Sandsinger's back. _"Can you walk?"_

Sara moved one leg testingly, to feel an ache, but it did move. "Yes. Thank you Sandsinger." She swung over the Flygon's shoulder and hugged her around her neck. "Okay guys, let's go see the nutty professor herself." She took the first steps into the lab with confidence.


	37. Deal and Darkness

A/N: Well, looks like you couldn't hold me to the promise I made last chapter after all… hopefully this will be worth the wait.

**Chapter 37**

"Okay guys, let's go see the nutty professor herself," Sara said as she took the first steps into the laboratory with confidence. Her mouth was open to call out when a sudden noise from close by, a scratchy 'oh!', stopped her.

A petite, older woman shuffled up to her, full-moon glasses slightly askew. Her hair was an untamed cloud of gray, making her appear taller than she actually was. "Darling! I've been waiting ages for you! Come now, you're first Pokemon is waiting—"

Sandsinger had poked her head into the lab and blinked in confusion. Tarragon looked into the lab above her, Star came to perch on his head. The rest walked into the lab through the other door, the Swellow flew in as well when she was swatted at. _"Sara isn't a beginning trainer,"_ Star growled in annoyance. Of course Professor Appawich didn't understand her, but she still looked up.

"I'm Sara," the blonde girl said.

"Yes, Sora, I've been expecting you," the Professor continued, unperturbed, grabbing Sara's hand and pulling her a ways into the lab. Rena followed them with a shrug, while Rika make herself comfortable on a swivel chair.

Sara managed to get away from her finally, saying, "Really, my name's Sara Wellington, not Sora…"

"What's that?"

Rena sighed, "If you can hear me, Professor, say: 'Amber rocks.'"

Professor Appawich blinked at her. "She can't hear us," the Pokemorph said to Sara.

"Karen could help," Rika made them both jump. The silver Espeon was sitting sedately on the chair that appeared behind the psychic.

"I'll never get used to her," Sara sighed.

* * *

Sundav was led to the conference room; in which sat the one she had to talk to. She had to duck to avoid her head hitting the wall, but the display of her massive, colorful body was still imposing. _"I would like an explanation,"_ she murmured. The man sitting at the far end of the room laughed. 

"An explanation?" He choked out. "Surely it's obvious."

Sundav said nothing. "You went back on your side of the deal, so I did, too."

_"Groudon was right in front of you."_

"It got away. No Groudon, no deal, Sundav."

The Ho-oh's wings spread out as far as the small room would allow, _"I need your people on my side. You can benefit in other ways."_

"Groudon is the only thing I want from you," he stated, steepling his fingers.

She sighed, _"I get you it, you…?"_

"I will help you again once its power is mine."

_"Fine,"_ she growled. _"There really is no arguing with you, is there?"_

He just grinned. _"Dominus will have Kyogre under his control soon,"_ she continued.

"Well then, you'd better get going," he muttered. Sundav took that as a dismissal and disappeared from the room.

* * *

The wind whipped Elvina's blue hair into her face. As she brushed it away, she said to the Absol sitting next to her, "I'm sure this beach is very beautiful when it's not always about to rain." She'd brought a blanket to sit on, but fine grains of sand still blew onto her clothes. Everyone else had gone back into the Pokemon Center by then to wait out the storm. But Elvina had a reason to stay, which were the white flashes she kept seeing out in the ocean. Foam had made friends of his own kind, and was very reluctant to come back. 

Solorite's only response to her comment was a thoughtful 'hmm.' _"Great Blue One!"_ Exclaimed a tiny voice. A single Frozic rolled onto the blanket, _"You're still here!"_

They hadn't seen many Frozic around, since the Pokemon were afraid of water. This one was no different, as it ducked under Elvina's knee. She heard it say, slightly muffled, _"You're a very pretty blue…"_

Solorite made a choking sound. "Can you imagine having a Frozic for one of your Pokemon?" He asked her, "Sounds like one would be very… loyal."

"Oh, be—"

_"May I be your Pokemon, Great Blue One?"_ Squealed the Frozic. It rolled off the blanket and gave Elvina the most innocent look it could.

Elvina's eyebrow twitched. She glanced at Solorite, who seemed to be grinning. A very sharp gust of wind blew past them, sending the Frozic flying into a pile of sand. It whimpered as the first drops of rain came sprinkling down. The rain was freezing, and Elvina shivered. Even though she'd brought a jacket to wear, she couldn't just sit out in the rain. Foam must've known that as well, as his white form was returning to the shore.

The Frozic was visibly shaking when it returned to her. She returned Foam as it stared. _"Great Blue One, please?"_

She sighed. Finally giving in, she reached into her backpack and drew out her last Pokeball. Her hand was shaking when she tossed it at the ice ball.

The wind blew again, knocking the ball up just barely above their heads. Rain shoved it downwards again and more off-course. It did hit a Pokemon, though it was the wrong one. Solorite seemed to sigh when it rebounded off his pelt and sucked him in with a flash of red light. The Pokeball hardly twitched before it fell still.

Elvina stared. She realized that she was wasting time—her hair was already soaked and sticking to her face and neck. The Frozic whimpered again, Elvina scooped it up in one hand while she carried the blanket and filled Pokeball awkwardly in the other. She returned to the Pokemon Center dripping wet. She'd taken a few steps into the commons room before she sneezed explosively and sniffed.

* * *

Sundav reappeared over an island obscured by a thick fog. She had to open her wings, as they had been closed initially. The downward spiral she took was very slow until a certain point, in which the air seemed to shift around her. She was paused for a moment, but it passed. The trees seemed to rattle as she set down with a slight _whoosh_. 

Almost immediately a tinkling laugh came from one of the trees. _"Aunt Sundav,"_ exclaimed a glowing point that floated around Sundav's head a couple of times. It rested finally on the tip of her beak. Behind a milky white shield the Celebi crossed its arms. _"It's about time you came to visit me."_

_"Timetra,"_ Sundav huffed, _"I'm here to see your mother."_

_"Going to tell her what you've been doing?"_ Timetra giggled. _"I've got to admit, pretty genius. You'll have the world destroyed. But at least Dominus will be with it, riiiiight?"_

_"That's not it at all,"_ the Ho-oh shook her head. _"You wouldn't understand."_

_"Mother trusts you, she hasn't looked to see what you've been doing, but I have. I could tell her…"_

Sundav turned away from the Celebi. _"Just because I'm in punishment doesn't mean you can ignore me,"_ she hissed, following. _"What's wrong with you Sundav? You used to be cool."_

_"Things change."_

No answer came to that, though Timetra leered after the Ho-oh. She followed at a distance, her expression changing as she considered something._ "I could help you,"_ she said.

_"That would require Mew to pardon your crimes,"_ Sundav murmured.

_"You could too."_

_"It would be an act of insubordination. Mew's judgment is more important than mine."_

_"Pah. Forget mother."_

They had emerged into a clearing of sorts; grass and small wildflowers grew in a wide circle around an immense tree. Its thick, arm-like branches and dainty leaves wove to form a dense canopy, a scarf of fog twined with the uppermost portion. Another, much larger, Celebi slept on a low branch. The great Mew herself lifted away from her perch and came to Sundav. _"Something wrong, Sundav?"_ Mew's voice was high-pitched, but serious. She glanced at Timetra, who began floating away dejectedly.

_"I've come to seek… advice."_

* * *

Professor Appawich was completely clueless as to what Sara was talking about. Who was this Katie Wellington? Why would she have a clue to her disappearance? 

It was midday when Sundav finally returned. Sara, Rika, and Rena, along with a couple of their Pokemon, were waiting for her on a hill overlooking part of the neighborhood in Brittle Branch Town. _"Have a nice trip, Sundav?"_ Sandsinger asked pleasantly.

_"You could say that…"_ the Ho-oh's gaze was distant. She blinked a couple of times before asking, _"Lady Sara, are you ready to move on?"_

"Where would we be 'moving on' to?" Rena cut in.

_"Rejoining the rest of our little group, in Accalem City."_

Sara murmured, "…But what about my mom?"

Sundav hesitated, _"The police can handle it. Hey, psychic, how about you foresee something about Mrs. Wellington?"_

"She's tied up somewhere," Rika said, shrugging. "That's about all I know. Not very important. I'll mention anything else I see later."

It took a little more to convince Sara that they shouldn't be staying in Brittle Branch Town. She finally agreed after Sundav made a deal with her, that the Ho-oh would teleport back and check on things every other day. Sundav gathered her energy and teleported the three trainers, Tarragon, and Hoppity, directly into a rainstorm.

The rain was coming down in thick sheets, each fat drop as cold as ice. Mercifully, they were close to the Pokemon Center, but were still drenched by the time they burst in. Tarragon shook the water off his body like a wet Growlithe, while a very innocent-looking Solonfree floated over Rena's head. Sara shuddered as she picked out Pocky's back near the fireplace, along with several unfamiliar people, probably there to get out of the rain.

Tracking water, the three trainers received a glare from the nurse on duty. "Another three," said a man standing near the desk. The Torkoal beside him snorted out a cloud of white smoke. "Hey girls, my Torkoal can dry you off."

It was nice of the guy to offer his Pokemon like that. Sure, the trainer's motto was, 'help others in need.' But it was lost after another slogan came out, a rap with the main line as 'gotta catch 'em all!' The Torkoal's smoke smelled of sulfur, but it was refreshingly warm. Sara breathed through her mouth for a while after, though. Another non-nurse was picking up cups of hot cocoa from a table and handing them out. Sara was surprised to see that it was Drake, who pushed a cup into her hand and said, "That one got extra marshmallows."

"Drake, why are you…?" She asked.

He just grinned. "I'm not really manning this station, just jumped up here when I saw you."

The curly-haired boy offered Rika a cup, which she denied. Rena took it instead. He led them over to the fireplace. A large space had been set aside for Elvina, who was shivering under several layers of blue blankets. An ice ball with eyes was rolling around one section of the blanket, chirping in its own language, and Solorite was watching it, though his whole body was tense. Blaze, Elvina's Growlithe, was draped across her lap, half asleep. Skitty batted at the dog's tail, while Huan rested directly in front of the fireplace. Foam was not in sight.

Elvina sneezed, jerking forward. Blaze stirred and swept his tail neatly under his belly before closing his eyes again. "Elvina! What happened?" Sara had to push her way past several people to get to her friend.

The bluette sniffled. "I got caught in the rain."

"Not only that," Solorite added. "But she captured me."

Sara blinked at him, "You know, Pokeball hits Pokemon, Pokemon gets sucked in, Pokeball goes 'ding'…?"

"You captured him?" She finally asked.

Elvina sniffed again and nodded, "It was an accident."

Sara sat down at a distance, but the little ice ball still must've felt she was too close. It rolled up and attempted to bite her finger, which she snatched away quickly. It chirped, "She's a friend, Icicle," Elvina said, and the ice ball blinked up at Sara. Her blue jeans caught its attention, and it grinned, displaying two sharp fangs. "Icicle is a—"

She cut herself off when she saw that the blonde girl already had her Pokedex in hand. **"Frozic, the ice ball Pokemon. Frozic are found in cold, dry areas. They live in small family groups and are highly attracted to the color blue."**

Sara grinned, "Did you capture it too?"

"No, just…" she motioned to Solorite. "Only one Pokeball."

Sundav fluttered over to the Absol. _"Ironic, don't you think?"_

"Yes, very," he said. Looking over to Elvina, he sighed, "But I've decided being a trained Pokemon again might not be so bad. That Pokeball is comfy."

The Solonfree shook her head. Mumbling something incoherent, she fluttered over to where Devon was sitting. Elvina coughed, "You know, Sara, there's a gym in this city," she stated. "Though knowing Accalem City, you'd better get ready for hand-to-hand combat."

"What?"

"Accalem City is backwards," Solorite supplemented. "If you want something, you have to ask for the opposite."

"Why's that?"

"Some legendary's joke," the Absol gave his best shrug. "I guess."

A few minutes later, the man with the Torkoal announced, "Storm's clear!" Several members of the group got up and walked off nonchalantly, as if holing up in the Center and getting free cocoa was a normal part of their day. It probably was. Drake appeared beside Sara again, his eyes asking the question for him.

"We should probably eat lunch first," Sara burst his bubble.

A good hour later, Sara and Drake were off, with their friends trailing behind them. Elvina carried her favorite blanket, folded up, a blue one with several fish Pokemon swimming around on it. Rena had put Pocky between herself and Devon, while Rika was the only one who had stayed behind at the Center, with Tarragon and Hoppity. Solorite had returned to his Pokeball.

It was easy to get turned around in Accalem City, as many of the buildings were possibly the size of a gym. They were originally puzzled on how to ask for directions, because if they wanted the gym, did they ask where not to find it…? The real gym was a couple blocks away from the Pokemon Center, larger than the ones that they'd been to before—it looked around three stories high. Three extinguished torches were placed around the heavy double doors, but there were no armor-wearing guards at the entrance. Perhaps their armor had rusted.

It took both Devon and Drake to push open one of the doors. Inside was a waiting room, which seemed very small. Behind a desk sat a teen with her brown hair in a tight bun and a computer in front of her. "Challengers?" She asked, voice heavy with boredom. "State your names…"

When Sara had supplied her with both their names, the teen typed away at her keyboard and nodded. "Taking the gym challenge out of order? Accalem City is ranked number eight, and you've both stopped at the rank five gym in Cobalt Strip," she sat up straighter as she said this, regaining some sort of interest.

"Yes, we are," Sara said. She glanced at Drake, who shrugged. 'We can take 'em,' he mouthed.

"Right, well then, I'm sorry to say this, but only challengers are allowed onward from this point," she was looking at the other four trainers. "I can give you instructions to the Pokemon Center if you would like, because the wait for a pair of challengers to come back out can be up to five hours."

Elvina flinched, "We know where the Pokemon Center is," she glanced at the others. Rena was grimacing.

"Well, good luck guys," Devon said. "We'll see you at the Center. Maybe we'll even save you dinner."

When their friends had left, Sara and Drake turned back to the teen, who had gotten to her feet. She offered Drake an unlit lantern. "Before you battle the gym leaders, you first must go through the first and second level, which have no light in them. This lantern is the only light you're furnished with, and if you have any flashlights, don't use them. There will be a set of Kadabra watching you, if you use a flashlight, it's automatic disqualification. Likewise, if for any reason either of you must depart from the gym, the Kadabra will teleport you out."

She dug around behind her desk and came up with a set of matches. "The first and second level have a few Pokemon in them. If they find you, then you must battle and defeat them to move on. Any questions?"

"How long will this lantern stay lit?" Drake asked.

"It varies," the teen smiled. "Different amounts of oil are placed in each one. But it will last for at least fifteen minutes, that's the minimum."

She lit the match and set the lantern's flame going. "Good luck," she said, opening the door leading into the gym for them. Blackness waited beyond the doorframe.

"I don't like how they set this gym up," Sara whispered to Drake.

He shifted the lantern to his left hand, holding it away from them. "Me neither," he whispered back. "Can we make a deal? I'll hold the lantern for the first level and you can hold it on the second one."

"Alright. Do you think we should have one of our Pokemon out for battle?"

"It's a good idea. And you're the one with more Pokemon…"

Sara nodded. He was right, so she picked out the Pokeball that held Star and tossed it upwards. In a flash of light that illuminated the surrounding area for a moment, the Swellow appeared. _"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"_ she exclaimed. Both trainers flinched, and flinched even more when a cry went out from a Spoink that had appeared around one wall.

"Star, use peck," Sara said. The Swellow hesitated for a moment before she picked out the bouncing pig and swooped at it. She pecked at him twice before a psychic aura surrounded her and blew her back into the wall. Star's squawk of pain turned to outrage, and she flew back at him to peck some more. The Spoink was very weak when it bounced away.

_"And don't come back!"_ Star yelled after it.

They winced again, "Star, keep your voice down," Sara murmured.

_"Why?"_ the Swellow landed on her trainer's forearm.

Sara had to explain all the rules of the gym to her Pokemon while Drake led them around one wall. There weren't any splits in the path, so she guessed the gym was just winding back and forth. If that were true, any Pokemon that was in the maze would eventually catch up with them.

"Why did you pick Star?" Drake murmured when she was done whispering to the bird.

_"Because I'm awesome."_

"Because she's awe—I mean, because… she's strong enough to take out opponents quickly," she shrugged, but he couldn't see it. It was a lie and he could probably tell, but at that moment a Ghastly appeared, successfully diverting attention. Star won quickly against it, too. The next couple of Pokemon that they encountered were weak like that, but the Drowzee left Star panting before it was defeated. It left them to guess that they would be encountering stronger Pokemon the more they got into the gym.

After what seemed like an eternity, another Drowzee appeared. It blew a cloud of purple smoke in Star's face as her wing came around to smack it. She coughed and used another wing attack, which was more powerful than the first. It knocked it down for a few seconds, before it got back up and retreated. When Star returned to Sara's shoulder, her breathing had an odd wheeze. _"I think… that was a poison gas attack…"_

Sara took the lantern from Drake as he rummaged in his backpack and came out with a purple bottle and a few potions. The contents of the antidote were to go down Star's throat, while Sara held onto the potions, for later. If Star took any more of a beating, she'd need them too.

Star was not happy after she had to drink the antidote. "Don't get poisoned again," was Sara's advice, which got her a sharp reply.

The lantern's light was beginning to fade by then. It got them to quicken their pace, though it seemed to do little good. The end of the level was nowhere in sight, but a Haunter was. Star ended up using gust to attack it at a distance, which drove it through the wall. Another couple of turns, and a glow was visible at the end of the path. When they came closer, they saw a large floor tile that was teal with a blue diamond cut into it. "What do you think that is?" Drake asked.

"I dunno, but it's the only thing left on this level. Why don't you step on it?"

"No, you step on it."

"No, you."

"You."

"No, you."

_"Why don't you both step on it at the same time?"_ Star said.

"Why don't we have Star step on it?"

_"No, that's not what I said—"_ The Swellow was promptly plopped down on the tile, and disappeared.

"It's a teleport tile."

"No duh. You go first."

Sara rolled her eyes and stepped on the tile after her Pokemon. For a second, everything was pitch black, before Drake and the lantern appeared behind her. Star was not a little bit ruffled when she returned to her trainer's shoulder.

Sara took the lantern from her partner and led the way forward. The path turned at a ninety-degree angle, and after walking a while, it turned again. They were heading in a spiral this time. The Pokemon on the second level were a lot harder to defeat than on the first, Star went through several potions to sustain herself for a while longer. Drake was running out of healing items…

They seemed to be close to the center of the level when the lantern finally gave out with one last puff of flame. _"Oh bother,"_ said Star.

"What is it?"

_"I can't see in the dark. At all,"_ the Swellow admitted, sounding quite embarrassed.

"We're close to the end, I think," Sara responded, refusing to return the bird to her Pokeball. She felt along the side of the inside wall to see when it turned and heard Drake's shoes scraping behind her. They went a while like this, without encountering any Pokemon—or just not seeing them—until Sara reached one turn in the path and was suddenly grasping a ghostly paw and looking into two glowing eyes…

She screamed, a long, high-pitched 'eeeee…!' Drake sounded startled, while the ghost cackled. Star leapt off of her trainer perch and created a gale with her wings that blew the ghost back and it shut its eyes upon making contact with the wall. It was either too big or too solid to phase through the wall. Blindly, Star continued to flap her wings and generating the wind, before an exclamation of: 'Gengar,' stopped her.

_"Just a Gengar,"_ said Star smugly. _"I can handle them without my sight!"_

Sara was very close to hyperventilating, "That… scared… me…" she panted once she'd finally returned to normal.

"No kidding," Drake said dryly. He gave her a gentle push in the dark, "C'mon, now that you've woken up the Kadabra watching us…"

Sara nodded, then realized he couldn't see it, "Alright," she replied. As she continued to walk, she could swear there was a very distant sound behind her, which sounded vaguely like laughter. Great, the Kadabra were laughing at her.

Another couple turns, and another glowing tile was ahead, brighter now that the lantern was dead. Sara walked eagerly onto it, and was suddenly blinded by bright lights. "Welcome, challengers," said a male voice whose owner she couldn't see.

Her eyes eventually adjusted, revealing two men standing on the other side of an arena from her and Drake. The seating around them was completely empty, and other than the gym leaders, there was only a referee dressed in the traditional black and white stripes. Two Kadabra appeared behind the gym leaders, and one tilted its head to one side towards the shorter, thinner leader. He seemed to nod, and spoke up, "This gym requires us all to use three Pokemon each within a specific time limit. Are you two ready to begin?"

_"Can I return to my Pokeball now?"_ Star complained.

"Sure. Great job, Star…" the Swellow disappeared back into her ball. Sara placed the lantern to one side and nodded.

The referee held up two flags, one white and one purple. "May the match between the two challengers and gym leaders Jeremy and Aaron begin!" He crossed the flags, and a screen lit up over one side of the seating, showing six unfilled boxes on both sides and a clock that read '30:00.' Sara swallowed. Thirty minutes for a gym match? That seemed like an impossible time limit to reach.

The two Kadabra teleported onto the field without their trainers saying anything. Two pictures of Kadabra appeared on the leader's side of the board, one on top and one on bottom. Drake threw a Pokeball, calling, "Go, Mellow!" The yellow-plumed bird burst out of his ball with a deep caw. Sara released Althea from her Pokeball. Althea shook out her tails and stretched.

Upon orders, Mellow dove at one Kadabra while Althea ran at the other. At the last second, a psychic shock sent the bird flying back from his target, but that didn't deter him from trying the dive again, and being blasted back again. Althea bounced off a blue-tinted shield that the other Kadabra put around his body. Without Sara's orders, she flamed the psychic and the shield didn't protect him from that attack. The Kadabra was badly scorched when it raised its spoon and psychically bent it. A cry of pain went up from Althea as she crouched and tried to cover her ears with her paws.

Mellow was attempting something different with his opponent that was working better; the Kadabra's reflexes weren't good enough to stop his quick attack. Several sharp pecks to the head later, Mellow took another psychic shock that blew him directly into the stadium seating. The Swellow flopped onto his belly and lay motionless. He had fainted.

Seadra took his teammate's place, and was at an even worse tactical disadvantage than Mellow had been. He could only move in short hops, so his attacks were all long-range, and all deflected.

Althea's ears had stopped ringing by that point, and she raised her head to flame her opponent again, just to see that he wasn't there. A shadow was cast over her from the tall Pokemon, and a psychic shock sent her tumbling away. She lifted her head as the Kadabra raised his spoon again, and let out an ember attack. It was enough to distract it, but not to knock it out. No, a water gun from Seadra took care of that, since he was having little luck with the other Kadabra.

Taking its place was a Xatu that took to the sky. It was even worse than the Kadabra, since it didn't remain stationary and could psychically deflect long-range attacks. It attacked Seadra while Althea worked on the other Kadabra. Althea collapsed after another psychic shock, and Sara returned her with a frown. She thought for a while before sending Sandsinger out and into the air to tango with the Xatu. Saladreth quickly followed, as Seadra fainted from one last peck attack.

Sara dared to take a peek at the scoreboard. They had roughly twelve minutes left, and the pictures of a Swellow, Vulpix, and Seadra on their side had grown dim. "Sandsinger, try to get closer before you attack!" She exclaimed to her Flygon.

Sandsinger drew her hand back as she came closer to the Xatu, ignoring a growing pain in her head that signaled the bird was using some sort of psychic attack against her. She slashed across one of its wings, which sent it falling heavily to the ground. As she was diving towards the Xatu, she suddenly couldn't move, suspended in midair by the bird's psychic. The mental energy forced her to fly into Saladreth's back, successfully knocking the finishing attack he had meant for the Kadabra into the sky.

Saladreth turned his head sharply and hissed at the Flygon. She buzzed back, and they were caught in a staring match for just long enough for their opponents to use another attack to knock their heads together. Sandsinger groaned and released a dragonbreath in roughly the Xatu's direction. Saladreth successfully knocked the Kadabra out with a swipe of his paw.

The skinnier gym leader released a Claydol, which Saladreth tried to capture in his jaws. He instead got a mouthful of psybeam. Sandsinger was back in the air, circling low over the Xatu, which had one of its wings stained red on the inside that wouldn't fold back onto its side. She dove at the bird again and her claws had barely touched its feathers when she was blasted back. She tried a dragonbreath, which the Xatu directed onto Saladreth. He once again hissed at Sandsinger, a nasty burned patch on his flank.

Saladreth fluttered his wings awkwardly at the Claydol, blowing its psybeam slightly askew. He used its moment of hesitation to clamp down on its body with a crunch attack. Its body was hard like dried clay, no blood seeped from the wounds that Saladreth's fangs made. He was forced to release it when its floating arms psybeamed him.

The Xatu was shuddering where it stood after another slash across its back. It finally collapsed, and was returned. Drake and Sara gave a cheer; the battle was even again, with five minutes left on the clock. The gym leader that released his next Pokemon didn't even flinch at the high squeal it made as a battle cry. A Pokemon they'd never seen before floated a few feet above the ground, dark tentacles waving to some wind only it felt. Two orange eyes leered at its opponents.

"**Velespo, the manipulator Pokemon. Velespo are a very secretive species, not much is known about them." **Sara's Pokedex chirped unhelpfully. At least it had given the ghost's name.

The Velespo raised one arm that had only a single claw at the end. It was pointing at Sandsinger, and its eyes flashed. A circle of blue shot out from the claw, almost too fast to be seen, and struck the Flygon. Her hovering ceased, as her eyes closed and she fell to the ground. Several tentacles wrapped around her body and squeezed. She didn't make a sound as they tightened, and Sara quickly returned the Flygon before she could take anymore damage.

There was only one Pokemon she could really send out, Karen. Meep was too young; she didn't trust the Velespo to take it easy on him after what it did to Sandsinger. And Star was probably snoozing in her Pokeball by then… Sara glanced at the clock. Only a minute left.

Karen didn't make a sound after she was released, just looked around. Saladreth was on even grounds with the Claydol still, and the Velespo was still glaring. She used a psybeam on the ghost, which forced it to flinch back a few feet. At first it appeared that the ghost was doing nothing after it spread its single-clawed arms, as its dark shade didn't reveal the black energy forming between its arms. Karen used another psybeam, which was the biggest mistake of the battle, as the Velespo's shadow ball cut straight through the psychic energy and hit her straight on. The silver Espeon crumpled and didn't get back up. A buzzer sounded, and Saladreth looked up as he released the Claydol from another crunch attack. A single zero on the clock showed they had run out of time.

Saladreth weakly slumped onto his side before Drake could return him. Apart from the dragonbreath burn, many of his scales had lost their luster from being hit by psybeams. Even without the clock, the battle would've still been over. Sara and Drake had lost. And during the battle, the gym leaders hadn't said a thing.

But for their benefit, after the referee declared the gym leaders as the winners, they spoke up. "Too bad. You both need to train your Pokemon hard before coming back here," the taller leader said.

Sara opened her mouth to speak, but the other leader cut her off, "Don't chat! Get your Pokemon to the Center!"

Empty-handed, they were, quite literally, shown the door. The sun was setting as they found their way back to the Pokemon Center, and not a word was spoken between them. Devon looked ready to pounce once they entered, but one look at Drake's face in particular stopped him. The nurse on duty passed their Pokeballs back to a Chansey, who ran into a different room. "Defeated by the gym, eh?" She asked, but not unkindly. The way they stated that the Pokemon would need care quickly gave that away.

As they turned away from the counter, a woman exclaimed in a back room. The red and white needle above the emergency room turned on.

Dinner was waiting for the two trainers, but not much of the soup made it in their mouths. "It was awful," Sara finally started. "We didn't stand a chance."

Drake just grunted and contributed with a nod. His gaze was distant.

Time passed, with Elvina and Pocky chatting together to try and fill the awkward stretches of silence. The ending of a gym match always ended in either elation or depression and a lot of scraped-up Pokemon. After a short period, Star and Meep were kicked out of the emergency room, since there was nothing wrong with the latter, and mostly potions and rest had healed the former.

Squee and Meep dashed around the commons room, providing some distraction. Star squawked when the next Pokemon to be released was Mellow, who had bandages around his head and belly. He went directly to her, chirruping.

Althea came out soon after, but the rest didn't, and late in the evening a new nurse called Sara and Drake over. "We're going to have to keep the Espeon, Flygon, Seadra, and Saladreth overnight. They're still in critical condition, so we can't allow any visitors…" she might've been addressing Tarragon's attempt to get into the room to see Sandsinger. Her face was hard as she continued, "The next time you challenge a gym, make sure your Pokemon are at its level. There's no excuse for letting them get into this condition…"

The nurse was right, even though her words stung. Sara fell asleep staring at that white needle on a red background…

_For just a moment, Sara felt weightless. She seemed to just float into a very realistic scene of a forest, pale green grass at her feet and orange-leaved trees shaking to a slight breeze. The only Pokemon in sight was an Ariados hanging from a branch by a string of silk. "I thought you were going to wait…" Sara complained._

"Wait for what?" _Blatos said. She didn't wait for an answer,_ "I am sorry about your gym match, but this is more important."

_"Wait, how did you know about that…?"_

"I was the referee," _the spider's expressionless face gave away nothing, though there was a hint of amusement in her voice._ "Are you good at singing, by the way? That high note you hit was just priceless."

_Sara was staring._ "Anyway, this time we're going to do something basic," _Blatos continued. She looked up, and six Ledyba appeared over one of the trees. They circled around the girl, while she looked puzzled._

_"What's this got to do with—" Her voice was cut off when the ladybugs created a hexagon-shaped shield around her. Each side was controlled by a single bug, interlocking so there were no gaps. Sara looked around, her eyes wide._

"Relax," _said Blatos when the bugs pushed their shields closer. Sara was practically hyperventilating when the Ledyba were called to a stop and pulled away._

_"I don't see… the point of that…" the girl gasped._

"Claustrophobia," _the Ariados shook her head._ "Of all the things you're afraid of, it has to be small spaces."

_"Well, that didn't help…"_

"I—" _Blatos cut herself off, staring at a point over Sara's head. The girl turned to see that it was Sundav balanced on the top of a tree._ "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Amusement," _it wasn't Sundav's voice that came from the Ho-oh's beak. It was deep and yet somehow shrill at the same time, and the laugh that accompanied it sent chills down Sara's spine._ "I've come to claim the Lady from you."

_The image of Sundav was melting away, warping into a smaller creature that had a ghost-like look to it. Its head was small and round, white smoke billowed from the top like hair, while two frosty-blue eyes were the only things visible on its face. A collar of red surrounded its head, and two long arms were brushed out in front of it. As Sara looked at it, the forest blurred away, leaving her and this creature alone in blackness._

* * *

Drake never did get to sleep that night. While he listened to assorted snoring noises, his eyes wandered around, trying to pick out something in the darkness. The only light came from the room that held his Seadra and Saladreth, and Sara's Karen and Sandsinger. Tarragon had managed to sneak in there a while back, and he hadn't been kicked out yet. 

Getting to his feet without waking anyone else would be a problem. His pillow was resting on the couch that Pocky had claimed, while Elvina had commanded total attention from all the furry four-footed Pokemon they had—even Meep and Squee joined her, their paws tangled in her hair. There was also no telling if that watchdog she called a Frozic was awake or not. It had bit him twice before, and its little fangs were sharp.

He brushed his blankets to the other side, maybe hitting Devon a bit was a safer bet—the blonde-haired boy was snoring. Stepping over the other boy, Drake was free to tiptoe over to the plastic double doors that had the emergency room behind them. The lights were on dim in the room, showing the four Pokemon he recognized and a couple he didn't. A Chansey sat next to the bed that Karen rested on, she looked up at him and surprisingly didn't jump up and slap him around, instead she pointed to the other side of the room, where Tarragon sat on the edge of Sandsinger's bed, humming gently. The smaller Flygon's eyes were slowly closing.

When Drake hesitated, the Chansey got to her feet and took his hand, dragging him over to the water tank that Seadra was floating in. He was still awake, _"Hey Drake,"_ said the seahorse, tilting his head to one side. Some of the sharp scales on his belly had flaked away, exposing whitish skin. Several of the remaining scales were ruined; they would fall off in time.

"Chansey, chansey," said the pink Pokemon, pointing at Seadra some more.

_"The pink blob says that I'm ready to leave,"_ said Seadra, flapping his wing-like fins when she glared.

Drake nodded, taking the Pokeball balanced on top of the tank. "I'm sorry, Seastar," the boy stated.

Seadra's eyes narrowed. _"You're not supposed to call me that,"_ he said. He didn't comment on the rest of what Drake said, though he nodded slightly as the red glow took him back into his Pokeball.

"Can I take my Saladreth too?" Drake asked the Chansey. She glanced doubtfully at the dragon, who was watching Drake with one violet eye. She shook her head, but gave him a little push in the dragon's direction.

Drake sat down next to Saladreth's head while the Chansey took her post next to Karen again. The Espeon's legs were kicking, a bad dream, perhaps? Saladreth picked up his head and licked his trainer briefly on the cheek. _"We need to take the gym circuit in order,"_ he murmured.

Saladreth gave a big yawn, exposing all of his sharp teeth, and rested his head in Drake's lap. He was asleep in a few minutes.

Tarragon's humming had stopped; he had curled up at the foot of Sandsinger's bed and fallen asleep as well. The Chansey and Drake were the only ones awake in the room.

* * *

Sara woke in a cold sweat. She was shaking violently. Someone was hugging her from behind, awkwardly around her shoulders. It was Elvina's voice that whispered, "Bad dream, Sara?" 

Something had landed on her lap, it was Star. _"What do you really think all that crying was?"_ The Swellow snapped.

"I-I was crying?" Sara stammered.

"Very loudly," Pocky said. Oh no, had she woken everyone up?

"Wha' time is it…?" Devon's voice was slurred.

Elvina released her, and she had to catch herself from falling backwards. _"I believe you were under a trance,"_ Sundav stated. She seemed to be only talking to Sara, _"Were you being talked to?"_

"Y-yes… there was th-this thing in it… h-he called h-himself D-D-Darkrai…"

_"Darkrai…"_ Sundav repeated. She had suddenly disappeared in a flash of gold sparkles.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, nor do I own several of the characters that appear in this fanfiction. Moonyasha created Elvina; Rio was created by Laputa9; Rena, Devon, Pocky, and all their Pokemon are from Digital Skitty's brilliant fanfiction, ReiShine. (If you haven't read ReiShine, you should. It's awesome.) They're all used with permission… 

A/N: Just to clear this up, Velespo is a Pokemon of my creation… but Darkrai is definitely not. Darkrai is the first—and only—official dark-element legendary. If you want to see some information about it, I suggest you browse serebii-dot-net's Diamond and Pearl section.

Also, Sara's Quest has been at 149 reviews for a long time. I might do something for the 150 review mark… hmm, maybe create/maul some sort of cover for the story.


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